The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of needs. Some of those needs will hopefully be addressed in free agency while the upcoming draft will offer some other options for the team. Most mock drafts simply try to predict the first round, but NFL Media draft analyst Chad Reuter has released his latest three-round mock a full three months before the 2017 NFL Draft.
The 49ers hold the second overall selection and numerous mock drafts have had the team selecting a quarterback with that top pick. A lot of that is because those mocks have pass rusher Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, considered to be the best player in the draft, going to the Cleveland Browns with the top pick.
Reuter sees the Browns going in a different direction. He has Cleveland selecting Deshaun Watson, the quarterback of the national champion Clemson Tigers.
That leaves the 49ers to pick Garrett with their top selection. "The 49ers get a difference-making pass rusher," writes Reuter.
In the second round, Reuter has the 49ers selecting Christian McCaffrey. The star running back from Stanford made headlines in December when he announced that he would not play in the Sun Bowl against North Carolina in order to prepare for the NFL Draft, a decision McCaffrey's teammates reportedly supported.
"His teammates have his back, they completely understand," Stanford coach David Shaw told CBS Sports' Allie LaForce. "They know that he's going to be pacing and watching this game, and going crazy rooting for his guys to win."
In the third round, Reuter has the 49ers finally addressing what many people consider to be the team's top need – the quarterback position. He projects the team selecting Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya. The junior became Miami's all-time leader in passing yards (9,968), completions (720), and attempts (1,188). Kaaya started 38 games during his three-year career with the Hurricanes.
Chad Reuter's Mock
Round 1, Pick 2 (2): Myles Garrett, OLB, Texas A&M
Round 2, Pick 2 (34): Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Round 3, Pick 2 (66): Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami