The San Francisco 49ers currently have six picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. All six of those picks fall in the first four rounds of the draft with four of them coming in Round 4 alone.
While that may be a good thing, since this is not considered a particularly deep draft class, San Francisco could still miss out on some hidden gems who may go in Rounds 5 through 7.
Let’s take a look at five players the Niners might miss out on.
WR Malik Benson
Expect the 49ers to pick a receiver at some point in the draft. Whether that’s in Round 1 or not remains to be seen, but Malik Benson out of Oregon would make sense for San Francisco.
He’s a deep threat who had 719 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season for the Ducks. Benson is projected to go in Round 5, so it wouldn’t be a major reach if the Niners picked him in Round 4, but they may decide to address other needs in that round.
WR Chase Roberts
This BYU product had 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns in his last year of college. While Chase Roberts is not a burner, he’s got good hands and comes down with the ball more often than not.
He’s projected to go in the seventh round, so don’t expect the 49ers to get him unless they make a trade.
RB Noah Whittington
San Francisco has been rumored to have some interest in running backs ahead of the draft. Noah Whittington is another Oregon product who would probably go higher if not for his size. He’s only 5-foot-8, and his impressive speed may not be able to make up for that fact.Â
He had 829 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground last season for Oregon and has proven to be a potent threat as a pass catcher.
There will inevitably be Darren Sproles comparisons wherever Whittington ends up, but it probably won’t be with San Francisco.
LB Jimmy Rolder
The 49ers may seemingly be set at linebacker after drafting Nick Martin last year and bringing back Dre Greenlaw. Not to mention Dee Winters and Fred Warner returning from injury. If the Niners had more picks, maybe they could have spent one on Jimmy Rolder out of Michigan.Â
He had 73 tackles in his final year for the Wolverines with two sacks and an interception. He seems like a solid player but will probably be drafted late on Day 3 if he gets drafted at all.
CB Brent Austin
While it’s possible the 49ers draft Cal cornerback Hezekiah Masses with their existing picks, they may miss out on his Golden Bears teammate Brent Austin. The projected seventh-round pick had 42 tackles last season, and while he didn’t have any interceptions, he did have two forced fumbles. Austin would be a reach in any of the first four rounds, though.
Maybe none of these guys turn out to be superstars, but the 49ers found a diamond in the rough in the seventh round with Brock Purdy a few years ago.
As of right now, though, it seems like they won’t be able to do that this season.
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