Niner Noise
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5 players 49ers should have taken in 2021 NFL Draft

By Peter Panacy

Defensive back Jericho Flowers #7 of the UNLV Rebels defends wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown #8 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Defensive back Jericho Flowers #7 of the UNLV Rebels defends wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown #8 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Trey Lance, NFL Draft, San Francisco 49ers
Trey Lance of the 49ers with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

The 49ers brought home eight prospects via the 2021 NFL Draft, including quarterback Trey Lance, yet these five should have been targets, too.

Hindsight will be 20-20, and the San Francisco 49ers should feel overly happy about their 2021 NFL Draft class, which was headlined by the No. 3 overall selection of quarterback Trey Lance and then went on to include some serious reinforcement of both the secondary and offensive line on days two and three.

As for the list of players selected, here you go:

  1. QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
  2. G Aaron Banks, Notre Dame
  3. RB Trey Sermon, Ohio State
  4. DB Ambry Thomas, Michigan
  5. OT Jaylon Moore, Western Michigan
  6. CB Deommodore Lenoir, Oregon
  7. S Talanoa Hufanga, USC
  8. RB Elijah Mitchell, Louisiana-Lafayette

Doubling up on running backs was interesting, although it makes some sense with how much emphasis head coach Kyle Shanahan places on the ground game and the fact none of the already-rostered Niners tailbacks are signed through 2021.

But at the expense of a deep wide receiver class and some possible gem pass-rushers on days two and three, it’s still a bit questionable.

It’ll be a long time before we can accurately assess whether or not Shanahan and San Francisco’s drafting efforts were correct with their selections, but it’s fair to suggest the 49ers may have been in slightly better shape had they been more aggressive targeting these five NFL Draft prospects instead of the ones they landed.

5. player. 812. . Center. Buckeyes . Josh Myers

No. 5: 49ers should have gone after center Josh Myers, not Aaron Banks

Shanahan has long since put top emphasis on both offensive tackles and centers with regards to his offensive line, while guards are almost an ancillary commodity.

That changed with the second-round selection of Banks, which somewhat came as a surprise given Banks isn’t so much of a zone-style lineman but rather someone who wins in power or man-gap schemes. While there’s no doubting Banks’ strengths reside in the run game, a better-rounded lineman might have been a smarter addition.

Ohio State center Josh Myers went later in Round 2 to the Green Bay Packers at No. 62 overall, and it’s likely he’ll start there right away following the Packers’ free-agent loss of center Corey Linsley.

Great for Myers, but he probably could have been a plug-and-play starter as a guard for San Francisco, too, and he should be viewed as a much better scheme fit.

Plus, the 49ers still don’t have a viable backup for their current center, Alex Mack, so Myers could have been groomed to take over those duties down the road while filling in at right guard, perhaps, in the meantime.