49ers 7-round mock 2021 NFL Draft with only Big Ten players
Cornerback. Badgers . Rachad Wildgoose, Jr.. 155. player. 809.
49ers Round 5 Pick, No. 155 Overall: Cornerback Rachad Wildgoose, Jr.
The 49ers’ all-name team gets another entrant after Ihmir Smith-Marsette with the addition of Wisconsin cornerback Rachad Wildgoose, Jr.
On top of that, the Niners may have a slot cornerback they can develop behind K’Waun Williams, who only returned to the team on a one-year deal and will turn 30 years old before the 2021 season begins.
Wildgoose has a similar profile to Williams, although he is two inches taller and about 10 pounds heavier. And although he has experience as both an outside and slot cornerback, the inside seems Wildgoose’s likeliest path to a role at the NFL level.
He’s a quick guy, as evidenced by his five tackles for loss in 25 games, who will need to clean up some of his play at the next level, but the good news is that he won’t be asked to step up as a starter in year one. And his athleticism may allow him to blossom as a special teams ace while he develops elsewhere.
He hasn’t played a lot, missing most of his junior season with a season-ending shoulder injury after just two games, but he could be the type of athlete a team is looking for this late in the draft who might carve out a role for himself as he progresses.