Typical 49ers Draft Reactions: Byron Young and the Class 11 Players Assessment

Worried the 49ers will just have a blah NFL Draft because they won’t even pick 99, the lowest they’ve ever taken a raw pick in franchise history?

the athleteDane Brugler explains that it is not only possible to find talent through their selections but also to select specific players to suit their needs. Brugler recently published a seven-round simulation for each team, and it’s clear that he’s taken the team’s needs—and some recent workouts and visits—into account.

As a result, he picked 11 interesting prospects for the 49ers, starting with a capable rim pushr to complement Nick Bosa and pushing last year’s top pick, Drake Jackson. Dane’s roster is impressive, but that doesn’t stop Matt Barrows and David Lombardi from offering critiques and suggestions and figuring out how the selections fit.

To start, Byron Young from Tennessee isn’t young: he’s already 25. But there are also plenty of positives to appeal to the 49ers, and those start with Young’s perfect first step and explosiveness. His measurements—a 250-pound frame and 4.4s 40-yard dash—fall into the Dee Ford category, and that’s promising for a team still looking to replace Ford’s role as rushing complement to Bosa.

Football Outsiders SackSEER projects measure Young to averaging 19.2 sacks over five NFL seasons. That could represent strong value for a late third-round pick, and the athleticism here suggests there’s an upside beyond that. But Young expects him to be a drag on the run, so his drafting will still require Jackson to make a leap year sophomore in terms of strength at the point of offense. Without any trial capital premium, the 49ers are more reliant on internal improvement than ever before.

Purdue’s Corey Trice, a 6-foot-3 cornerback, reminds some of Richard Sherman from a physical perspective. At 4.47 in the 40-yard dash, he doesn’t have super speed, but Trice is a solid tackler with good explosive marks (1.58 10-yard split). He tore his ACL in 2021 but recovered 12 tackles in 2022, improving and seemingly picking up the rust as the season progressed.

The 49ers, after losing Emmanuel Mosley to free agency to Detroit, need a cornerback deep. They cannot count on Ambry Thomas, who is coming off a disappointing 2022 season, behind Carvarius Ward and Diodore Lenoir. Trice may be an evolutionary piece that gives the 49ers another option in a situation where being thin can be a huge issue. The 49ers learned this the hard way in 2021.

There may be some grumbles that the 49ers don’t pitch in until late in the fifth round, but Brugler clearly put a lot of thought into his picks.

Two of the players on the roster, Alabama’s Cameron Lato and Sacramento State’s Marty Mabo, have made visits to the 49ers and filled needs at tight end and linebacker. San Francisco also had a private workout with Maryland player Chad Ryland last month and met Liberty wide receiver Demario Douglas at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Mabou tore a pectoral muscle last month, but that hasn’t dampened the hype around it. Teams are looking for him at safety and linebacker. It is excellent in coverage. If the 49ers catch him in the third round, he could potentially vie for the third quarterback spot that Aziz Al Shaer, now with the Titans, has held for the past four years. Mapu would also be an obvious replacement at strong safety if Talanoa Hofanga were to miss games.

Meanwhile, Lato was a versatile tight end at Alabama, playing both inline and breakaway. He would be a good fifth-round pick, but the 49ers might be able to find someone better—a junior-level player—if they used an earlier selection for the position. If they wait until the fifth? Purdue’s Payne Durham (captured at No. 165 on this form) is a more spunky blocker than Lato and could play the role Tyler Croft did last season, though he’s also a heavier catch than Lato on the passing game.

The only offensive lineman on this list, Georgia’s Warren McClendon is an interesting fifth-round pick. He has a good frame with 34 1/2″ long arms. He hasn’t allowed a sack in each of the past two seasons despite facing some excellent pass catchers, including last year’s #2 pick, Aidan Hutchinson. Does he fit in Kyle Shanahan’s area-blocking attack? And can he challenge Colton McKeevitz for the right starting freshman-year job? Oklahoma’s Wanya Morris and BYU’s Blake Freeland were available to the 49ers in the third round in this form and it might be a better fit scheme.

Douglas and Ryland’s choices stood out. Douglas is very similar to current 49ers wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III, except that he is faster. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds and was a strong kick returner and dribbler at Liberty. McCloud’s speed created plenty of raw space on a return in 2022, but he wasn’t able to get past coverage. Douglas may be able to turn some of those big returns into touchdowns.

Along with Michigan’s Jake Moody and Auburn’s Anders Carlson, Ryland is one of three kickers the 49ers made last month. He is a good kicker and has kicked field goals from 70 yards in practice. 49ers scenario: Head into the season with Zane Gonzalez — signed through 2023 — as the starting kicker and stash Ryland on the practice squad, then switch to him next year.

Four seventh-round picks complete Brugler’s mock draft.

The first, West Virginia’s Dante Stills, is a lighter defensive tackle with good man athleticism in the three-approach role. This skill set is coveted by the 49ers, as evidenced by their selection of defensive tackle Kalia Davis last season.

Ty Okada, a safety from Montana, posted a good pro day. He’s not a burner, but scouts have praised a solid football IQ that can give players at the 49ers a great backup option at a safety who lacks developmental talent. Huvanga is a rising star, but Tashaun Gibson will be 33 and not under contract after 2023.

Cincinnati’s Arquon Bush has good ball skills, as evidenced by his nine career interceptions in college, and he also prides himself on his nickel versatility. The 49ers are also interested in bolstering options at that position following the departure of Jimmie Ward in free agency.

Drafting 6-5, 229-pound Florida Justin Shorter may be reminiscent of the 49ers’ 2020 pick of Jauan Jennings, who also came in the seventh round. Shanahan likes the larger bodies of the “big hole” mode, even if they don’t have superhuman speed. Size and durability are key there.

(Byron Young top photo: Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)