Mock draft season is officially underway, at least for the NFL teams that fell short of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the San Francisco 49ers are among them, finishing with a disappointing 6-11 record and landing at the bottom of the NFC West standings.

The 49ers are heading into one of the most pivotal offseasons under general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. A key to their turnaround will be a successful draft, which will help restock the roster with affordable, young talent. In his latest mock draft, Josh Edwards of CBS Sports has the 49ers addressing their defensive line with their first-round pick.

Edwards projects the 49ers selecting Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. (6-5, 243) with the 11th overall pick.

"They add a new running mate to pair with Nick Bosa at No. 11 overall," Edwards wrote. "The interior defense is still a problem as well."


Lynch has expressed pride in the team's most recent draft class, which made significant contributions during their first season, especially as injuries ravaged the roster. The 49ers are expecting to have 10 total draft picks in April.

"We have 10, probably, right now," Lynch said this week. "Nine draft choices. We think we'll have 10 with a comp pick. But we need to continue to add to it in that way and hope we continue to have hard decisions because we have a lot of great players here."

Pearce is an intriguing prospect, having recorded a career-high 10 sacks last season. This year, he followed up with 7.5 sacks, 38 tackles (13 for a loss), a pass deflection, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Pro Football Focus graded Pearce at 87.1 or higher on defense and 88.9 or higher as a pass rusher in each of the past two seasons, highlighting his disruptive force on the edge.

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