Mel Kiper, Todd McShay mock draft: 3 rounds with some oddities

The approach to the 2015 NFL Draft is coming down the home stretch, which means we are getting into more unique angles on mock drafts. For ESPN, that means getting both Mel Kiper and Todd McShay in the mix. On Thursday afternoon, Kiper and McShay put together a three-round mock draft with alternating picks. McShay handled odd numbered picks, while Kiper handled even. That meant McShay handled the San Francisco 49ers first and third round picks, while Kiper handled the 49ers second round pick.

The first two picks were not surprising, so they made some sense. In the first round, McShay had the 49ers drafting Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead. In the second round, Kiper had the 49ers drafting Clemson inside linebacker Stephone Anthony. Plenty will disagree with Armstead, but it is not a particularly surprising pick. He had this to say about each pick:

Armstead: "The Niners need to add depth and talent to their defensive line, regardless of whether Justin Smith decides to retire. Armstead has prototypical size and strength to be a 5-technique defensive end in a 3-4 scheme like the one San Francisco runs."

Anthony: "You win, Todd. I would have taken Perryman here if available, but Anthony gives me a potential immediate starter at an obvious need position."

It gets a little confusing though in the third round. McShay has the 49ers drafting Arkansas defensive end Trey Flowers. On this pick, he said:

Flowers is a great value pick at this point, and I'm not worried about taking two defensive ends with Flowers and first-rounder Arik Armstead. Flowers provides more as a pass-rusher, while Armstead does his best work against the run.

He does seem talented, but I'm just not understanding why they would go with a second defensive lineman in the third round. Here is a list of players that went after the Flowers pick covering 49ers positions of potential need:

WR Tre McBride

RB Jay Ajayi
RB Jeremy Langord
RB T.J. Yeldon
RB Duke Johnson
RB David Johnson

TE Jeff Heuerman

OL Hroniss Grasu

OLB Markus Golden
OLB Lorenzo Mauldin

CB Alex Carter