The San Francisco 49ers will invest in the quarterback position this offseason, be it through the draft, free agency, a trade, or some combination of them. The 49ers hold the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and many analysts and media types are projecting the 49ers to take a quarterback. Mitch Trubisky has been a popular pick, but DeShaun Watson shows up as well.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah posted his latest 2017 NFL Mock Draft Wednesday afternoon, and it offered up a new take on the 49ers first round pick. He had the Cleveland Browns selecting Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett, which is par for the course. However, he then had the 49ers selecting Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore. In discussing the pick, he said
The 49ers could address the QB position with this pick but Lattimore carries a much higher grade than any of the signal-callers in this draft class.
The 49ers have needs all over the roster, and going “best player available” would certainly make a certain amount of sense. I think the 49ers have some solid, intriguing options at cornerback. And yet, they don’t have a pure lock-down option at this point. The 49ers don’t have a pure lock-down corner, so if the 49ers think he could be that clear-cut No. 1, maybe it makes sense.
The 49ers have bigger needs than cornerback, but they are at a point where they need to simply add “really good” players. That’s a bit simplified, but the 49ers need talent. Plain and simple.