I realize we are only two weeks into a long 2016 NFL season, but yes, mock drafts are slowly starting to arrive! Yahoo! Shutdown Corner writer Eric Edholm put together his first 2016 NFL mock draft, and I thought, why not give it a look?
Edholm based his draft order on the reverse of Yahoo!’s recent power rankings. that gives the Cleveland Browns the top pick, and the San Francisco 49ers pick No. 4. The mock draft has quarterbacks going in the top two slots, and then has the 49ers picking Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams (how many Mike Williams exist in the world?!). The top four picks were as follows:
1. Cleveland Browns - DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
2. Chicago Bears - DeShaun Watson, QB, Clemson
3. Miami Dolphins - Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
4. San Francisco 49ers - Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
Here’s what Edholm had to say about the 49ers selection:
They’ve drafted a defender first each of the past four years and are in dire need of some elite offensive talent to help make Chip Kelly’s system go. The natural spot to start is at quarterback, and Kizer and Watson would have to be very much in play if they end up drafting in this range. Right now, this feels very high for Williams, but he is every bit the type of talent that the Tigers have produced in recent years. A clean bill of health could ensure his spot in the top dozen or so picks. Kelly loves big receivers with the ability to high point and win in the air. The 49ers currently have no such receiver.
I’m way behind a lot of folks in terms of figuring out the college draft prospects. We’ve got quality stuff coming in from Greg Valerio and Jake Narayan, which you can read here. They break down prospects to watch in each week’s big matchups, and will have positional rankings later this year.
Matt Miller, a friend of the site, posts a weekly college prospect column, in which he includes an updated big board. In his most recent column, Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett is at the top, followed by LSU running back Leonard Fournette, Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Fizer, and Alabama inside linebacker Reuben Foster. He ranks wide receiver Mike Williams No. 20.
The 49ers desperately need help at wide receiver. They need a quarterback as well, but they can likely only get one in the first round. Williams is featured as the best option at wide receiver in a lot of rankings, but many don’t include USC junior JuJu Smith-Schuster. If he declares, he will push Williams at the top of wide receiver rankings. Neither is off to the biggest of starts, but they are chugging along and have time to finish strong.