Way-too-soon 49ers 4-round mock NFL Draft for 2023

Round 3, Pick No. 103 Overall (Compensatory): 49ers select LB Owen Pappoe, Auburn

The 49ers also receive their third of three Round 3 selections (that’s a lot of threes) for the 2021 hiring of minority candidates, now-New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and now-Washington Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew.

One of the positional shortages the Niners will likely face in a year’s time is at linebacker where Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair are both scheduled to be free agents, Greenlaw hitting the final year of his rookie contract and Al-Shaair returning in 2022 on a restricted free-agent deal.

It might be wise for San Francisco to re-sign at least one of those two veterans, but it never hurts to reinforce the depth with the hopes of landing someone with some long-term upside.

Such as Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe.

Pappoe was limited to only five games last year because of a leg injury, which will drop his draft stock unless he proves that was a mere anomaly and he can play more like his 2020 campaign in which he recorded 93 total tackles and four sacks.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound prospect is the epitome of today’s modern coverage-type linebacker, and he’d be a safe-bet player towards the end of day two.