49ers NFL Draft: Pete Prisco says Niners ‘should’ take Zach Wilson

In his final mock NFL Draft, CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco lays out a ‘should’ scenario where the 49ers end up with BYU quarterback Zach Wilson.

There are two different schools of thought when evaluating what the San Francisco 49ers end up doing, or any other team for that matter, in the NFL Draft.

There are mocks anticipating what teams are likely to do, and there are mocks where the person drawing them up suggests what he or she would do making the pick.

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco just finished up his final 32-pick mock draft based on what he thinks teams “should” do rather than what all the speculative analysis and predictions have suggested.

And from that perspective, the Niners wind up with a different quarterback than the one most mocks out there have them getting.

Pete Prisco mocks Justin Fields to Jets, Zach Wilson to 49ers

No surprise, Prisco has the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 overall. That’s what the Jags should and will do, barring something totally crazy.

But things get shaken up at No. 2 when the New York Jets are on the clock.

In Prisco’s mock, Gang Green doesn’t go with BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who is the odds favorite to be the second player selected on April 29, but rather Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.

Here’s what Prisco said with regards to the Jets’ would-be selection of Fields:

"I think he has more upside than Zach Wilson or Mac Jones. Wilson is slight of frame, which is a concern. Fields would be my pick if I were the GM."

This, of course, would leave Wilson right in the hands of San Francisco at No. 3, which is what Prisco suggests “should” happen:

"He would fit perfectly into the Kyle Shanahan offense with his ability to move and make plays on the run. This won’t happen — but if it did, it would be a good thing for the 49ers."

For what it’s worth, the mock has North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance going No. 14 overall to the Minnesota Vikings, while the player mostly mocked to the 49ers, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, goes No. 15 overall to the New England Patriots.

49ers should prepare for a possible Jets selection of Justin Fields

Most of the pre-draft hype leading up to April 29 has centered around the Niners’ pick and what they’ll do with it. And while Jones is almost assuredly going to be there, one should at least account for the slight possibility the Jets do indeed select Fields over Wilson.

It’s something Niner Noise broached a while back.

There hasn’t been anywhere near the speculation about the Jets pick at No. 2 overall as there has been surrounding San Francisco. If anything, it’s almost been an assumption New York grabs Wilson with the second pick.

Yet if many a draft pundit thinks Fields is a player who could not only thrive in the 49ers offense, why not make the same argument about possibly thriving in the Jets, too? After all, first-year Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur will run a similar system he helped learn back with the Niners the last four years under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Likewise, if Wilson is tabbed as a good fit for LaFleur’s offense, there’s little reason to assume he wouldn’t fit in with San Francisco either.

Perhaps that’s yet another reason why the 49ers have repeatedly stated they’re comfortable with all five of the top quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft anyway.