The 2020 NFL Draft is just under a month away, which means that The Game Haus will be doing draft profiles for every team. Each NFL team will be looked at heading into this year’s draft including what their needs are and who they could be targeting. The San Fransisco 49ers will be the 13th team evaluated.
Summary
The San Fransisco 49ers went from worst to first this past year. Technically speaking they did go from second-worst to second best. But Kyle Shanahan’s vision came true this season as we saw the offense come together with the way it has at many of his former destinations. The defense also took a huge leap forward as a majority of for former first-round picks started playing as their full potential. When an offense and defense like that comes together, it is not a shocker that they made it to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the 49ers will have to live with the fact that they were an overthrown pass away from possibly becoming Super Bowl Champions. However, with a large amount of their team coming back there is a good chance they will be in the thick of things next season.
The 49ers finally got a full season of Jimmy Garropolo. After playing in 6 games with the team after they traded for him and only playing in three the next year because of tearing his ACL. Jimmy G. also showed he is more than a game manager, winning a few games with his arm. George Kittle still remains one of the league’s elite tight ends and will get paid as such sooner rather than later.
The 49ers have a suspect wide receiver group coming into the year made up of Marquise Goodwin, Kendrick Bourne, former second-round pick Dante Pettis and drafted Deebo Samuel & Jalen Hurd in the second and third round. All of them are good but none are trie number one receivers. That is why they traded their third and fourth-round picks for Emmanuel Sanders and a fifth-round pick. Sanders was the final piece this offense needed. Deebo Samuel developed enough to be a starting receiver in this offense.
The 49ers used a running back committee this past season. Coming into the year it was believed to be the combination of Jerick McKinnon and Tevin Coleman, but after Mckinnon’s second straight season-ending injury, it became the three-headed monster of Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert. And the unlikeliest of the three, Mostert, was the listed started and the lead back of the committee. In Shanahan-like fashion, an under-considered running back looked elite in this zone scheme, run-first offense.
The 49ers arguably had the best defense in the league this past season. They finally looked like what their personnel was, four first-round picks on the defensive line, two Pro Bowl-caliber linebackers, and to top it off an elite cornerback who has been considered the best in the league over the past couple of seasons. DeForest Buckner played fantastic as usual this year. But the story on the defensive line this year this past year was Arik Armstead’s career year and Nick Bosa’s coming out party. Arik Armstead had 10 sacks and Nick Bosa had nine sacks and won DROY this year. Armstead received a five-year $85 million extension which forced the team to trade DeForest Buckner.
2020 NFL Draft Picks
First Round (two picks): No. 13, 31
Second Round (zero picks):
Third Round (zero picks):
Fourth Round (zero pick):
Fifth Round (two picks): No. 156, 176
Sixth Round (one pick): 210
Seventh Round (two picks): 226, 245
Team Needs
Wide receiver- Deebo Samuel played well this past year and might be considered the 49ers number one receiver by the start of the next season. But the 49ers need to find a second receiver that could help fill the void left by Emmanuel Sanders’ production.
Cornerback- Richard Sherman is still playing at an extremely high level, but he is 32 years old and the 49ers need to start thinking about the future. Also right now the 49ers don’t really have an answer for who their number two cornerback is Ahkello Witherspoon, K’Waun Williams and Emanuel Moseley are the current candidates. Finding a true second cornerback that could develop behind Richard Sherman could be the push the 49ers need to win the big game next year, if they reach it.
Defensive Tackle- Regardless of how deep their defensive line is, it will be hard to replace DeForest Buckner’s consistently great production. Solomon Thomas and DJ Jones are the projected starters and I’m sure Arik Armstead is going to play on the inside too. But if the 49ers can grab one of the elite defensive tackle prospect, they should.
Interior Offensive Line- The projected starting guards Laken Tomlinson and Tom Compton are solid starters, but they can easily be upgraded if the 49ers addressed guard early.
Safety- Surprisingly the 49ers retained Jimmy Ward, but they could use more depth behind him and Jaquiski Tartt.
Left Tackle- Joe Staley is 35 years old and the 49ers don’t have a plan for life after him. It might be time to figure out their next move at left tackle.
2020 NFL Draft Targets
First Round:
Pick No. 13: C.J. Henderson, CB, Florida
The 49ers have a couple of options at number three they can grab one of the three best receivers in the draft, one of the two top defensive tackles, or CJ Henderson. The wide receiver and defensive line depth in the draft is tremendous. The 49ers can get a starter at either position later in the draft it they trade back for more draft capital. After C.J. Henderson there is a huge drop off in the level of talent at the cornerback position. The 49ers showed that Richard Sherman cannot cover the entire field during the Super Bowl so why not address it here by grabbing a day one starting corner at number 13 and grooming their future number one cornerback.
Pick No. 31: Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor
Denzel Mims arguably has won the process leading up to the draft. He got national attention from his play at the Senior Bowl and had a fantastic combine. Now he will likely be selected anywhere between the late first and early second round. Mims is a great route runner and fill the slot left by Emmanuel Sanders. However, the 49ers are expected to try to trade down from one if not both of their first rounds picks, because they do not select again until the 5th round after trading away a second for Dee Ford last year and moving a third and fourth-round pick for Emmanuel Sanders. Do not be shocked if the 49ers move down from both of these selections and have a completely different array of draft picks come draft day.
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