Aaron Colvin planning to sprint at his April 23 Pro Day

One of the individual Pro Days that will be worth a watch next month is that of Oklahoma cornerback Aaron Colvin. Oklahoma held their school Pro Day this past week, but Colvin is still recovering his the ACL tear he suffered during Senior Bowl practice week. Now, Colvin believes he can be back sprinting by April 23. Colvin was unable to take part in drills at the OU Pro Day, so it sounds like he plans on using April 23, three weeks before the draft, to do that.

Once compensatory picks are assigned next week at the owners' meetings, the 49ers will have 11 picks at their disposal (minus one for Blaine Gabbert). The 49ers need to boost their cornerback depth, and I think most of us agree they'll use at least one pick, and probably multiple picks, on the cornerback position.

The cornerback corps consists of Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Eric Wright, Chris Cook, Darryl Morris and Dax Swanson. Even if the 49ers are comfortable with that group, Wright and Cook are playing on one-year deals, and Culliver is in the final year of his rookie contract. The team needs depth for the long-term, but they also need options if and when some of these guys end up walking after this season. I don't know which of that group will stick around, but the 49ers will need corners. They could use more competition right now, but they also need long-term options.

Colvin is recovering from his torn ACL, and while he would like to be back sprinting by April 23, NFL advice for him has been to not push it too hard:

"They've been telling me that it's going to come," Colvin said. "They've been telling me a lot of things haven't changed draft-wise and not to worry about the draft. They said I'll be fine. I wasn't really worried about it before. It's been on my mind some, but it's something that you have to get over. Whatever team I go to, I have to work and get on the field."

If the 49ers were to invest a pick in Colvin, it seems pretty likely that he would red-shirt the 2014 season. They might decide he can in fact get right back out there, but odds seem pretty high that won't be the case. While I get the frustration of drafting guys we know won't contribute right away, there is still value in it when you have as many picks as the 49ers have. There is a balance of finding guys who will step right in, and guys you know you can develop. Ideally every pick would come in and be a superstar right off the bat, but we all know that is not the case. There will be that balancing act of immediate options and future options. We'll see if Colvin joins that latter group.