We're back with the latest update of the Niners Nation NFL mock draft database. We don't have any dramatic changes since our last look two weeks ago. The same three positions dominate the landscape, with ten cornerback picks, ten defensive line picks, and six wide receiver picks.
TCU cornerback Jason Verrett gets the honors as most selected player this week. It's only four selections, with LSU WR Odell Beckham, Jr., Minnesota DT RaShede Hageman and Notre Dame DT Louis Nix coming in next with three mocks apiece. If you're interested in a profile of Verrett, check out Bleeding Green Nation's scouting report, posted yesterday.
When you are assessing mock drafts, at what point do you start to take the specific players chosen seriously? Or maybe you either always do, or never do. Personally, I am intrigued by the names, but mocks strike me as more about the positions being selected than the names being mentioned. When the real draft gets here, there will be trades that shake things up. And all it takes is one team liking a guy for a projected second or third round pick to go in the first round.
For now, we continue to see wide receiver, defensive line and cornerback as the top picks in the mocks. I am curious to see if the defensive line picks change at any point. We'll see some noticeable changes following the Combine and Pro Days. And of course, free agency will drastically change some teams' needs. Even if the 49ers needs remained exactly the same, teams in front of them adjusting their draft boards impacts the 49ers. And since we'll never see the draft boards (except when the Cowboys screw up!), we never quite know who really wanted which player.
I realize that sentiment takes something away from the specifics of mock drafting, but like I said, there is still value to be had position by position. Even if it still remains odd that defensive linemen are so prominently featured!