49ers NFL Draft 2022: 5 must-have prospects on Day 2
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers don’t have a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. But they’re armed with three on Day 2, and these five players sure could be enticing.
The 2022 NFL Draft is shaping up to be awfully fluid after the first five or six projected selections, and it wouldn’t be totally shocking to see a player pegged for the top 10 wind up slipping all the way towards the end of Round 1, while another player projected to go in the teens winds up falling into Round 2.
It’s not unlike what can happen on a year-to-year basis, but this year seems even better a candidate for such things to take place.
Without a first-round pick, thanks to last year’s trade-up for quarterback Trey Lance, the San Francisco 49ers literally have zero clue which players will be available by the time their first number is called at the back end of the second round, No. 61 overall. Yet there still should be some notable talent there. And with two more additional picks in Round 3, Nos. 93 and 105 overall, the Niners are still in a position where they could end up with top-quality players at the very end of day two.
With that in mind, here are some must-have players San Francisco will surely have its eyes on in Rounds 2 and 3.
2410. Scouting Report. Cornerback. UTSA. player. 5. Pick Analysis. Tariq Woolen
49ers must-have NFL Draft prospect No. 5: CB Tariq Woolen, UTSA
The 49ers already added a No. 1 cornerback in free agency, grabbing Charvarius Ward on a lucrative deal. But that doesn’t mean they should stop there in this year’s draft.
UTSA cornerback Tariq Woolen is a bit of a boom-or-bust prospect, having only played the position for two years after converting from wide receiver. However, the Woolen’s intangibles are undeniable, him being a 6-foot-4 and 205-pound defensive back with blazing-fast speed, having run a 4.26 40-yard time at the NFL Scouting Combine.
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| 2017 | UTSA | CUSA | FR | WR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | UTSA | CUSA | FR | WR | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | UTSA | CUSA | SO | WR | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2020 | UTSA | CUSA | JR | CB | 9 | 21 | 14 | 35 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| *2021 | UTSA | CUSA | SR | CB | 9 | 17 | 8 | 25 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career | UTSA | 39 | 24 | 63 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Generated 4/17/2022.
Woolen surely improved his draft stock with his impressive combine workouts, and it’s not likely he slips beyond Round 3. Still, that’s a point where a team like the Niners can take a flier on his upside while understanding the fact he’ll need plenty of polish at the NFL level.
If that pans out, San Francisco would have its next true starting boundary cornerback in a couple of years’ time.