A new three-round mock draft from the Draft Wire came with only minimal changes from their prior projections, but there’s a common theme that shouldn’t change much throughout the process.
The 49ers need help on the offensive line with perhaps a long-term answer at center. Safety could be a huge need for them depending on how free agency shakes out. They have three of the five safeties from last year’s roster all hitting free agency.
There’s a chance there are minor changes to the team’s needs after the free agent market plays out, but offensive line help is always going to be something to address, and safety depth is more than likely going to be a factor even if they don’t need a starter.
One interesting wrinkle is the inclusion of a wide receiver, which could be a sneaky need for the 49ers. Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings and Ray-Ray McCloud top the depth chart. After that there are significant question marks that aren’t likely to be answered in free agency.
Let’s run through the latest three selections for the 49ers at the end of the new 3-round Draft Wire mock:
No. 99 | Michigan OL Olusegun Oluwatimi
Oluwatimi was sent to the 49ers in a previous iteration of these projections. He’s an experienced starter at center who could conceivably be a long-term answer at that position for San Francisco. He also has some experience at both guard spots as well, but he’s most valuable to the 49ers as a center where he started 49 of the 50 college games he played.
No. 101 | Wake Forest WR A.T. Perry
Perry is another player who’s been mocked to the 49ers in a previous version of the Draft Wire three-round projections. He’s a tall wide receiver who can be effective in the intermediate areas of the field where San Francisco’s passing game lives.
No. 102 | Illinois S Sydney Brown
Hey, a new name! As a senior Brown hauled in a whopping six interceptions and broke up seven passes while racking up 60 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. While he’s athletic enough to play the free safety spot San Francisco may need to fill, he gets downhill a lot with 320 tackles in his career. The 49ers may not be able to replace Jimmie Ward directly if he walks in free agency, but Brown has a skill set that could allow him to develop into the versatile chess piece Ward became during his time in San Francisco.
