NFL Draft 2021: Prospects 49ers don’t want to see in NFC West

The 49ers have eyes on some top prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft, but they’re also hoping other NFC West teams don’t have good draft classes, too.

While most of our 2021 NFL Draft attention has been on the San Francisco 49ers and which quarterback they covet with the No. 3 overall pick, we shouldn’t lose sight of our divisional rivals.

As the Niners are taking a quarterback at No. 3, all four teams within the NFC West still have the same philosophy of taking as many players as possible who will contribute right away and help them get to the Super Bowl.

The NFC West is the most competitive in all of football, and all four squads have good claims to being a playoff team this year. This is especially true when you consider the expanded playoff format which awards an extra Wild Card spot. The NFC West could have three or even potentially all four teams in the playoffs by the end of the season.

It’s genuinely that good of a division.

Of particular interest for the NFL Draft this year, however, is only one other divisional rival actually carries a pick for the first round: the Arizona Cardinals at No. 16. So there aren’t as many opportunities for the Los Angeles Rams or Seattle Seahawks to make a real splash.

But there are still plenty of intriguing prospects in the second round you wouldn’t want the 49ers to see in the NFC West as well. You only have to look at D.K. Metcalf, the Seattle Seahawks’ monster wide receiver that they got as a steal in the second round back in 2019.

This is a worst-case scenario situation. Which players could another NFC West team take that would make it that much harder for the Niners to be on top of the division once more?

So be prepared for some potential falling first-round recruits as well who could end up on the slide also.