The San Francisco 49ers have many needs entering this year’s NFL Draft. The Niners lost a number of key players in free agency and they also traded or released key contributors. One sneaky area of need may be the wide receiver position.
San Francisco traded away longtime wide out Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders. The 49ers also also seem fairly likely to be without Brandon Aiyuk to start the year. They still have Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, but after that, things are a bit light on the depth chart.
That is what could motivate the Niners to select a wide receiver in the draft, and they could address that need by selecting a player with Bay Area ties in Nick Nash out of San Jose State.
Nash is an interesting prospect because he started his collegiate career as a quarterback. He was a signal-caller in his first three seasons with the Spartans, but in his last three seasons (he had extra years due to Covid), he transitioned into being a wide receiver, which seems to have been a wise move.
His stats as a QB were fairly unremarkable as he had 1,317 passing yards with 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions across his first three seasons. But by 2024, he was an elite pass-catching threat.
His last season at SJSU saw him haul in 104 receptions for 1,382 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, which earned him the NCAA receiving triple crown. He was a Unanimous All-American and earned first-team All-Mountain-West honors for his great season.
The 24-year-old receiver has now become a fascinating wide receiver prospect even though he only has a few years of experience at the position under his belt.
He makes sense on the 49ers due to his height at 6-foot-3. With San Francisco lacking a lot of tall pass-catchers, Nash would provide a viable target to go up high and bring catches down.
Nash is projected as a fifth-round selection, which could be a perfect spot for the 49ers to get him especially since they have had a good amount of luck with their fifth-round picks in recent memory.
It is also a nice benefit that Nash played his collegiate ball so close to Santa Clara in nearby San Jose. Whenever a player from a local university makes it onto an NFL team from that same area, it makes it even easier to root for them to succeed.
Wide receiver may not be San Francisco’s biggest area of need heading into the NFL Draft, but if Nick Nash is available in the fifth round, then the 49ers should strongly consider drafting him.