It’s a long way off, yes. But it’s never a bad time to take an early pulse on the 49ers’ opening needs for the 2022 NFL Draft with the 2021 season about to begin.
Alas, the final weekend without San Francisco 49ers regular-season football is upon us, and it just so coincides with the kickoff of the college football 2021 campaign.
The Niners, and the rest of the league for that matter, begin the following week. Yet the evaluatory process for the 2022 NFL Draft has already started in earnest. No NFL games over Labor Day weekend should mean fans everywhere are taking a look at some of the potential pro-level prospects who could find their names called seven months from now.
For San Francisco, it might be a bit more challenging an evaluation.
Following the 2021 trade-up for quarterback Trey Lance, the 49ers will be without a first-round pick in the 2022 draft, and they also dished off one of their compensatory selections, a third-round pick, too. They still have seven projected picks, yet two of them are estimated to be Round 7 compensatory selections.
Nevertheless, looking at some of the early preseason results and the overall shape of the roster, including pending free agents and underwhelming position groups, let’s take an opening look ahead of the 2021 regular season on what the Niners’ top four needs will be in the 2022 NFL Draft.
49ers Need No. 4: Wide Receiver
It was a bit of a shock San Francisco didn’t take advantage of a deep 2021 class at wide receiver, instead only grabbing undrafted free-agent Austin Watkins, who is no longer with the team.
Granted, the 49ers should feel pretty good about their two starters, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, and the offseason free-agent addition of Trent Sherfield makes the situation seem much better.
But Sherfield is only signed on a one-year deal, while Samuel’s injury history — he missed seven games in 2020 — still lingers, and the Niners may be thinking about not offering him a second contract after his rookie deal wraps up at the end of 2022.
Nowhere near as deep with talent, the 2022 draft class still offers up some possible options:
- Romeo Doubs, Nevada
- Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama
- David Bell, Purdue
- John Metchie III, Alabama
- Reggie Roberson Jr., SMU
49ers Need No. 3: Outside Pass-Rusher
It’s going to be great watching EDGEs Nick Bosa and Dee Ford back on the field together after they both played just one full game in 2020 before succumbing to serious season-ending injuries. And even without their combined presence during the preseason, San Francisco’s defensive line nevertheless looked dominant.
But with Bosa on track to become the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, along with Ford’s injury history, the sustainability of keeping both of these two remains in doubt.
Ford’s reworked deal keeps him through 2022, and it’s possible he winds up being a post-June 1 cap casualty. Even if he stays, the 49ers have to be thinking about finding a replacement edge rusher on a cheaper rookie deal to replace him, while Bosa winds up receiving quite the lucrative contract extension.
This year’s NFL Draft class of EDGEs was laden with all kinds of question marks, but there appear to be some safer bets in 2022:
- Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
- Zach Harrison, Ohio State
- Brenton Cox Jr., Florida
- Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma
- Kingsley Enagbare, South Carolina
49ers Need No. 2: Interior Offensive Line
The Niners invested a lot in their offensive line during the offseason, re-signing left tackle Trent Williams before inking veteran Alex Mack, then using two draft picks to grab offensive guard Aaron Banks and offensive tackle Jaylon Moore in Rounds 2 and 5, respectively.
One of the potential budding problems, though, has been Banks’ slow development from training camp through Week 1 of the preseason before suffering a shoulder injury that kept him out until the regular season kicks off.
Banks is going to start 2021 as a backup to right guard Daniel Brunskill. That’s already a disappointment, as second-round picks are supposed to be high-profile contributors to some degree.
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Yet an arguably more concerning problem is left guard Laken Tomlinson being a free agent next year. With San Francisco facing some notable extensions for some of its younger talent, retaining Tomlinson might not be in the cards for 2022.
Fortunately, there appears to be a lot of quality interior linemen in the middle rounds of next year’s draft:
- Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
- Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
- Darian Kinnard, Kentucky
- Ed Ingram, LSU
- Tyrese Robinson, Oklahoma
49ers Need No. 1: Cornerback
If there’s one position the 49ers may expect to see a lot of turnover at in 2022, it’s cornerback.
Veteran corners Jason Verrett and K’Waun Williams are both playing on one-year deals. Combine their ages and injury histories, the Niners are going to need to infuse some younger talent anyway.
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San Francisco passed on doing this in 2020, and it could potentially come back to haunt the team. True, the 49ers used two draft picks this year to grab corners Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir in Rounds 3 and 5, respectively, but only Lenoir has shown to be a reliable defensive back right out of the gate.
Even if both players pan out and become reliable starting-caliber options, it might not be enough to solidify the depth chart.
And assuming both Lenoir and Thomas wind up developing accordingly into quality contributors might be a reach anyway.
Either way, the Niners have to be considering at least one more cornerback to add in the 2022 NFL Draft, and it might be preferable to do so as soon as possible:
- Trent McDuffie, Washington
- Josh Jobe, Alabama
- Mykael Wright, Oregon
- Derion Kendrick, Georgia
- Isaac Taylor-Stuart, USC