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NFL Network's Mike Mayock is getting into the swing of things for draft season, and will have a conference call Tuesday afternoon. He'll be providing thoughts on anybody and everybody heading into this week's NFL Combine. In the meantime, he has posted his top-5 position rankings over at NFL.com.
The 49ers have their share of needs, but not at every position. You can head to the link above to see all of them, but I thought I'd pull out a few of the rankings. The most notable are probably wide receiver, and then the secondary.
Wide receiver
1. Sammy Watkins, Clemson
2. Marqise Lee, USC
3. Mike Evans, Texas A&M
4. Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State
5. Jarvis Landry, LSU
At this point, Sammy Watkins is about as consensus as they get. It's interesting to see his choice of Marqise Lee at No. 2 over Mike Evans. Most resources I've seen have Evans ahead of Lee. Each resource has their own thoughts on the issue, but it's still interesting when one guy considers a player different from the rest of the pack. It's also noteworthy because if one of the two slips a little bit, maybe the 49ers are willing to roll the dice and move up to secure their services.
Cornerback
1. Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State
2. Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State
3. Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech
4. Jason Verrett, TCU
5. Bradley Roby, Ohio State
At this point, it seems safe to assume Dennard will be off the board unless the 49ers are prepared to make a serious move to the top third of the draft. Gilbert could end up there as well, but there is enough variance that it's hard to say for sure where he will shake out.
Safety
1. Calvin Pryor, Louisville
2. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama
3. Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State
4. Jimmie Ward, Northern Illinois
5. Deone Bucannon, Washington State
And finally, safety. Wide receiver, cornerback and safety seem like the three most logical positions for the 49ers to consider in the first round, but we know Baalke can surprise us from time to time. The safeties include a mix of free and strong safeties, but the 49ers could very well look at both. If they let Donte Whitner walk, they will need a strong safety, but it's possible they could go best safety available and have an inter-changeable pair with Eric Reid and the rookie.