In the past I had mentioned that if we saw Blaine Gabbert and Cameron Newton drafted in the top six picks, we'd see some potentially special talent drop to the 49ers at number seven. SB Nation released their latest 2011 NFL Mock Draft and we see the Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert duo in the top six. However, this time, neither Von Miller nor Patrick Peterson drops down to seven. Instead the 49ers are selecting Prince Amukamara as we actually see defensive tackle Nick Fairley continue his drop in the rankings, going eighth to the Titans:
7. San Francisco 49ers: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska. San Fran is a bit of a wild card in the Top 10, with several legitimate directions the team could take. We keep coming back to Amukamara, a safe prospect in an area of need for Jim Harbaugh's club.
Amukamara does strike me as the "safe" pick if Peterson and Miller are gone. I did some poking around about Nick Fairley and I've seen some sites that think he could potentially move outside to defensive end in a 3-4 (Walter Football, FF Toolbox). He was a guy many people projected as the top pick only a few weeks ago, but now question marks are coming up. He had a monster 2010 season, but it strikes some as a proverbial "contract year push." If Nick Fairley was sitting there at number seven would you be intrigued enough to grab me? Oh and A.J. Green happens to be sitting out there also. Do you trade down with that pick or do you grab one of Green, Amukamara, or Fairley?
Here are your top six picks:
1. Carolina - Cam Newton
2. Denver - Marcell Dareus
3. Buffalo - Patrick Peterson
4. Cincinnati - Blaine Gabbert
5. Arizona - Von Miller
6. Cleveland - Da'Quan Bowers