5 players 49ers should have taken in 2021 NFL Draft

No. 1: Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown would have been a solid slot for 49ers

Maybe Austin Watkins winds up outperforming his draft stock and becomes a quality slot target for San Francisco, given that’s been a key need during the offseason that’s still not totally addressed. Or, perhaps, Kyle Shanahan finally allows depth wideout Richie James to finally have a bona fide role on offense as a No. 3 option at the position.

Still, former USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown would have been a quality pickup with great value after finally being selected by the Lions at No. 112 overall.

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Most draft pundits and analysts pegged the 5-foot-11, 197-pound St. Brown with a third-round grade, so getting him in Round 4 would have generated a great deal of value. True, the 49ers didn’t end up having a fourth-round pick, trading that selection away along with another picked up during the draft to move back into Round 3.

Yet going with St. Brown at some point, either with one of those two third-round selections (Trey Sermon and Ambry Thomas), would have helped solidify the top three of Shanahan’s crop of wide receivers.

St. Brown, who had 478 receiving yards and seven touchdowns over six games for the Trojans last year, has the versatility to line up all over the formation. And while he lacks elite speed, his route-running savvy and separation skills would have made for a fun-to-watch slot in Shanahan’s offense.

Perhaps St. Brown had to be neglected by the Niners due to their needs to reinforce the secondary earlier with Thomas, but one has to figure Shanahan would have loved having the wideout at his disposal for the next few years.