49ers focus on trenches, depth in post-NFL Combine mock draft
By Peter Panacy
824. . Kicker. Terrapins . Chad Ryland. 254. player
Round 7, Pick No. 254 overall (compensatory): 49ers select kicker Chad Ryland, Maryland
Perhaps this will be the year the Niners learn a lesson and don’t use a mid-round pick on a specialist.
Granted, the last time they did so was with punter Mitch Wishnowsky back in 2019, but the special teams battery hasn’t changed much since then.
It will be entering 2023, though.
Veteran kicker Robbie Gould has already made overtures about not returning to San Francisco despite his advanced age, meaning the 49ers will be on the hunt for a new kicker.
Grabbing an undrafted free agent is in play here, but Maryland’s Chad Ryland might be worth the four-year rookie contract.
Ryland’s field-goal percentage never dipped below 82 in the last three seasons, split between the Terrapins and Eastern Michigan the previous two years.
Hey, kickers matter.