Tis the season for mock draft frenzy, or what I like to call, Draftmas. For countless of self described draft nuts and dedicated football fans throughout the NFL, we all wait silently in the night, or in the day, like anxious little children days before Christmas, excitingly waiting to open our new batch of presents under the grand O 49ers Draftmas tree.
Well, that moment of utter anticipated euphoria is nearing conclusion (18 more days). Therefore, we are all hopeful that Trent Baalke (the Little Drummer Boy who beats to his own drum), will gift us a Nintendo Kid quality draft selection resulting into a joyous and magnificent White Draftmas. Or the alternative, the dreaded crazy-aunt present, producing the eye-rolling, blood pressure exploding, the "c'mon, what-were-they-thinking", rage inducing, expletive laced shouting, bewildering type present that leads to a horrific experience very similar to that of The Red Wedding (Game of Thrones reference - check).
So, while we all wait to be hopefully excited, or agonizingly disappointed (are we at the point were it's expected), I am hopping onboard the train of mass draft hysteria of mock drafts and providing you my perspective of how I think things will turn out in a two-round mock draft, post free agency. There are no trades in this mock, and keep in mind, it's only a mock draft based off my opinions; therefore, I don't believe Jerry Jones' quick proclamation of not drafting a QB with their 4th overall pick, so the 49ers QB conundrum will likely stay in question in this scenario. Nevertheless, like all mock drafts of today, it will be the digital toilet paper of tomorrow. Enjoy!
First Round
1. Tennessee - Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss
2. Cleveland - Jared Goff, QB, California
3. San Diego - Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida State
4. Dallas - Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State
5. Jacksonville - Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
6. Baltimore - Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State
7. San Francisco - DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon
There is no question the defensive line position is deep with talent in this years' draft class, and although the 49ers could look later in the rounds to capitalize on the talented depth of the position, it doesn't hurt that DeForest Buckner is one of the best DE prospects in the draft; moreover, at 6'7", 291 pounds, and with 34 3/8" arms, no other prospect fits the exact mold Baalke and Chip Kelly prefer for their DE position. With the health of Ian Williams and Glenn Dorsey in question, as well as both of their contracts ending in 2016, the 49ers DL depth, and the future of the position, is in desperate need of bolstering; however, most importantly, and a key component missing with our current roster of inside run stoppers, are those that are capable of not only stopping the run, but rush the passer on the inside as well. And according to stats from Pro Football Focus, with 12 sacks, 16 QB hits, and 39 hurries, Buckner looks to fit the part of being the effective pass rushing run stopping force the 49ers have been lacking.
8. Philadelphia - Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
9. Tampa Bay - Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson
10. Giants - Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame
11. Chicago - Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan
12. New Orleans - Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss
13. Miami Dolphins - Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
14. Oakland - Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama
15. Los Angeles - Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis
16. Detroit - Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio State
17. Atlanta - Darron Lee, LB, Ohio State
18. Indianapolis - Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
19. Buffalo - Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky
20. Jets - Leonard Floyd, OLB, Georgia
21. Washington - Andrew Billings, DL, Baylor
22. Houston - Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
23. Minnesota - Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
24. Cincinnati - Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
25. Pittsburgh - A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama
26. Seattle - Robert Nkemdiche, DL, Ole Miss
27. Green Bay - Jarran Reed, DL, Alabama
28. Kansas City - Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson
29. Arizona - Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama
30. Carolina - Su'a Cravens, S/OLB, USC
31. Denver - Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
Second Round
32. Cleveland - Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State
33. Tennessee - Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State
34. Dallas - William Jackson III, CB, Houston
35. San Diego - Cody Whitehair, OG, Kansas State
36. Baltimore - Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame
37. San Francisco - Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana
Solidifying the trenches for the 49ers is the name of the game in this mock draft. Although it is expected the 49ers found their likely replacement for Alex Boone with OG Zane Beadles, what they lost in Boone's departure was Staley's backup at LT, and I'm for sure not jumping for joy having Erik Pears as the potential penciled in backup for Staley. As for Anthony Davis, at this point, I think it's best to move on from Davis. I'm excited to see the continued growth of Trent Brown (speaking of growth, did you see that he's 6'9" now), but the position is in desperate need of competition, not to mention a legitimate backup LT.
Therefore, with the extremely athletic Jason Spriggs available for the 49ers, I view him as an excellent scheme fit in Kelly's system and a prospect (former tight end) displaying great size (6'6"), length (34 1/8" arms), agility, foot quickness, and an aggressive mentality necessary to be successful in the NFL. He is one of the better zone blocking OT prospects in this draft class, where his athleticism and lateral quickness will truly shine. And like a good majority of offensive lineman transitioning to the next level, functional strength will need to be addressed and some refinement on technique; nevertheless, Spriggs shows the ability to be technically sound and is extremely physical at the point of attack. Furthermore, he easily transitions to the second level showing off his quickness and fluidity. Plus, he uses blocking angles well in the run game and has a good anchor with nimble feet in pass protection looking rather impressive moving on the edge in space (per Pro Football Focus: 3 sacks allowed, 3 QB hits, 6 hurries, 12 total pressures with a pass blocking efficiency rating of 98%). Spriggs will provide great competition with Trent Brown at RT, and ideally, the future replacement of Joe Staley.
38. Jacksonville - Joshua Garnett, OG, Stanford
39. Tampa Bay - Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
40. Giants - Vonn Bell, S, Ohio State
41. Chicago - Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
42. Miami - Keanu Neal, S, Florida
43. Los Angeles - Tyler Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh
44. Oakland - Sheldon Rankins, DL, Louisville
45. Los Angeles - Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State
46. Detroit - Austin Johnson, DL, Penn State
47. New Orleans - Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State
48. Indianapolis - Nick Martin, C, Notre Dame
49. Buffalo - Jonathan Bullard, DL, Florida
50. Atlanta - Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas
51. Jets - Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State
52. Houston - Vernon Butler, DL, Louisiana Tech
53. Washington - Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia
54. Minnesota - Jeremy Cash, S, Duke
55. Cincinnati - Kenny Clark, DL, UCLA
56. Seattle - Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M
57. Green Bay - Kentrell Brothers, LB, Missouri
58. Pittsburgh - Le'Raven Clark, OT, Texas Tech
59. Kansas City - Christian Westerman, OG, Arizona State
60. New England - Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma
61. New England - Kenneth Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech
62. Carolina - Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn
63. Denver - Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA