5 defensive NFL Draft prospects 49ers must have atop big board

No. 1 player on 49ers defensive NFL Draft big board: CB Trent McDuffie, Washington

A 49ers draft crush from a while back when no one had any clue if they were going to select early in Round 2 or at the very end of it, Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie likely won’t come close to falling all the way down to No. 61 overall.

Perhaps not even out of the first round.

McDuffie is one of a handful of plug-and-play cornerback prospects in this year’s NFL Draft. And while there have been notable fallers on draft day, the Niners could only dream he lasts deep into the second round.

It doesn’t mean McDuffie, probably selected in the late teens or early 20s, can’t be on San Francisco’s big board, though.

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Yes, the 5-foot-11 McDuffie is a bit undersized for full-time boundary work, but that’s where he primarily played for the Huskies, and it didn’t stop him in the pass-happy Pac-12 from being a quarterback-deterring cornerback capable of locking up his opposite number. And while he doesn’t have the numbers to suggest ballhawk status, McDuffie generally did a great job of merely preventing looks from going his way.

That counts for something.

So, while the 49ers won’t have much of a shot at McDuffie, they can still hope against hope that he’ll fall to No. 61 overall anyway.