49ers NFL Draft 2021: Grades for each pick based on value

49ers draft OL Aaron Banks, Notre Dame, at No. 48 overall

San Francisco saved some of the value for its Round 2 selection of Notre Dame offensive guard Aaron Banks by trading down with the Los Vegas Raiders from No. 43 overall to No. 48, picking up an extra fourth-round pick they’d eventually use to get back into Round 3.

But Banks is something of a questionable selection anyway.

True, Banks is a mauling run-blocker and didn’t allow a sack in pass protection last year. That’s a plus, and the 49ers had to start thinking about upgrading their guard play sooner than later anyway.

Yet Kyle Shanahan has always put more emphasis on his centers and tackles over the years, and Banks isn’t so much of a zone-style blocker, rather more of a man-gap player who might struggle a bit in the transition to a new system.

And there’s a good chance Banks could have slipped either late into Round 2 or even early into the third round, suggesting the Niners reached a bit on a player on whom they could have maximized value by trading down again from No. 48 overall.

But the biggest setback for San Francisco’s value grade here is because Shanahan and Co. should have looked earlier at cornerbacks or wide receivers, both a bigger positional need with more immediate impact.