49ers NFL Draft 2021: 5 best targets available on Day 2
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers made their selection of Trey Lance at No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, but day two offers up some unique prospects worth targeting.
If anything, San Francisco 49ers can celebrate the rest of the 2021 NFL Draft without thinking or worrying too much who general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan take between Rounds 2 through 7.
Why? Well, North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance was the Niners’ selection at No. 3 overall. Not Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who ultimately was selected by the New England Patriots at No. 15.
Lance will take up to a year to develop, given he started essentially only one season with the Bison, 2019, and played just one game last year before COVID shut NDSU’s 2020 campaign down.
That all but ensures quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo sticks around for the year, meaning it’ll be up to Lynch and Shanahan to continue building a team in support of their veteran quarterback capable of getting back to the Super Bowl.
And hopefully winning it this time.
San Francisco enters day two of the 2021 draft, Rounds 2 and 3, with two picks: Nos. 43 and 102 overall with the latter selection being compensatory.
With that as a backdrop, here are five players the 49ers may want to consider targeting with Round 1 now in the books.
49ers Day 2 NFL Draft Target No. 5: EDGE Rashad Weaver, Pitt
A number of edge rushers went in Round 1, including Michigan’s Kwity Paye and Miami’s Jaelan Phillips. And while boasting a good deal of depth for outside pass-rushers, this year’s class doesn’t feature a bona fide clear-cut pass-rushing stud.
Still, the Niners have a need to bolster the pass rush behind EDGE Nick Bosa and despite adding former Los Angeles Rams pass-rusher Samson Ebukam during the offseason.
And with EDGE Dee Ford highly doubtful to come back early this year because of a back injury, one figures bolstering the depth behind Bosa and Ebukam would be a worthwhile proposition. Particularly getting a quality defender on a cheap rookie contract for the next two years to extend beyond when Bosa will eventually command top dollar.
Pitt’s Rashad Weaver is likely going to be a mid-Round 3 pick, potentially slipping into the back end of the second round.
If Weaver falls, though, the 6-foot-5 and 270-pound EDGE could be quite the physical presence who uses his long arms and strength to get beyond weaker offensive tackles. And while San Francisco could be leery of Weaver’s torn ACL suffered in 2019, his seven sacks last year is good proof he’s fully recovered and healthy.
He’ll need to refine his pass-rush moves a bit and rely less on his overall strength. But if Weaver puts it all together, he’d be worth a day-two pick from the 49ers.