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2022 Senior Bowl: 4 NFL Draft prospects 49ers will love

By Peter Panacy

Tight End Kenny Yeboah #88 from Mississippi of the National Team is tackled after a catch by Cornerback Bryan Mills #12 from North Carolina Central and Linebacker Jabril Cox #18 from LSU of the American Team (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
Tight End Kenny Yeboah #88 from Mississippi of the National Team is tackled after a catch by Cornerback Bryan Mills #12 from North Carolina Central and Linebacker Jabril Cox #18 from LSU of the American Team (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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Roger McCreary, Auburn Tigers
Auburn cornerback Roger McCreary (23) Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images /

842. . Cornerback. Tigers . Roger McCreary. 1. player

49ers Senior Bowl Target No. 1: Cornerback Roger McCreary, Auburn

If we’re being honest here, the 49ers would be wise to invest at least a couple of their 2022 NFL Draft picks to beef up the secondary. Perhaps more.

There’s a slim-to-none chance Auburn cornerback Roger McCreary, all 6-foot and 190 pounds of him, slips to the Niners with their original pick at the tail end of Round 2. Discussions now are placing McCreary into the fringes of being a first-round selection, perhaps going as high as the early 20s, meaning it’d be a pipe dream for him to slip into the latter half of the second round.

And even if San Francisco winds up getting another Round 2 pick in exchange for Jimmy Garoppolo, that’d still likely not be enough to land McCreary.

Roger McCreary Defense & Fumbles Table
Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2018 Auburn SEC FR DB 4 2 3 5 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0
*2019 Auburn SEC SO DB 13 30 6 36 1.0 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 9 1 0
*2020 Auburn SEC JR DB 10 38 7 45 7.0 0.0 3 63 21.0 0 6 0 1
*2021 Auburn SEC SR CB 12 41 8 49 2.0 1.0 2 35 17.5 1 14 1 0
Career Auburn 111 24 135 10.0 1.0 6 98 16.3 1 30 2 1

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Generated 2/3/2022.

But, let’s envision a scenario where the 49ers act aggressively.

If they believe quality is more important than quantity in this year’s draft, perhaps trading those two would-be second-round selections to get back into Round 1 would be a wise choice, thereby opening up the door for a player like McCreary to be a top selection.

If so, and especially if McCreary performs well during the Senior Bowl, it might be a wise move.

The 2022 Senior Bowl kicks off on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2:30 p.m. ET from Hancock Whitney Stadium.

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