The NFL Draft is a day away, which means the various "experts" are finalizing their mock drafts for posterity. It is fairly convenient that the Big Three of draft analysts all released new mock drafts today. I thought I'd compile them together and we can potentially look back at these down the road.
Mike Mayock released the only NFL mock draft he will produce and he has the 49ers selecting wide receiver Kendall Wright. He went with Wright over guys like Kevin Zeitler and Amini Silatolu, but he did have Stephen Hill and Coby Fleener going ahead of Wright.
Mel Kiper released a mock draft that he will update between now and Thursday evening. He has the 49ers selecting offensive guard Kevin Zeitler. I am more and more enamored by the idea of Zeitler or Silatolu with that pick. I would not be devastated by a non-OL pick, but something like an OG would not surprise me in the least.
Todd McShay and Scouts Inc went all out with their mock draft, as they rolled out a seven round look. Here are the seven 49ers picks:
1(30) - Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin
2(61) - Bruce Irvin, OLB, West Virginia
3(92) - Tyrone Crawford, DE, Boise State
4(125) - Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia
5(165) - Devier Posey, WR, Ohio State
6(199) - Juron Criner, WR, Arizona
7(237) - Brandon Bolden, RB, Mississippi
A seven round mock draft has limited value for actual player predictions, particularly since the team is likely to find themselves moving up or down in various rounds. Nonetheless, there is value in looking at the areas of need for a team. While you may disagree with many of the specific players, I think Scouts Inc. has done a solid enough job hitting on the various positions of need for the 49ers.