Projecting where quarterbacks will go in the 2017 NFL draft has been rather difficult, and I don’t think anybody can say with certainty that X or Y event will happen. We know a lot of teams have been connected to quarterbacks, but a trade here or there could throw things for a loop.
I came across an interesting 2017 NFL mock draft that offers a new angle related to the San Francisco 49ers. Our friends at Bleeding Green Nation put together a seven-round mock draft that allowed for trades. The 49ers spent their No. 2 pick on Solomon Thomas, but then the person handling the 49ers got a little crazy. He made a deal with the New York Giants, dealing the 49ers second and third round picks to move up from No. 34 to No. 23 (and also received No. 207). With that pick, he selected Mitchell Trubisky.
Here is the full list of picks from that mock draft.
1 (2). Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
1 (23). Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
4 (109). Chad Hansen, WR, California
4 (143). Lorenzo Jerome, SS, St. Francis (PA)
5 (146). Shelton Gibson, WR, West Virginia
5 (161). James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh
6 (198). Jeremy Cutrer, CB, Middle Tennessee State
6 (202). Travis Rudolph, WR, Florida State
6 (207). Brandon Bell, LB, Penn State
7 (219). Kyle Kalis, OG, Michigan
I would be surprised if Trubisky slipped down to 23, but I am wondering what the 49ers might do if one or more of the notable quarterbacks is slipping into the bottom third of the first round. The 49ers have the assets to move up, but would they? Last year, the 49ers moved from pick No. 37 to pick No. 28, giving up a fourth and sixth, and getting the first and a seventh. It would take a little bit more to move up to 23, but likely not all that much.
Other than that, three wide receivers seems a bit much in this one. I do think the 49ers need long-term help at the position, but three day three wide receivers does not seem like the best use of assets. Right now, the 49ers have added Pierre Garçon, Marquise Goodwin, and Aldrick Robinson, while extending Jeremy Kerley. Sixth and seventh round picks can often end up on the practice squad, but it still seems like a team with the 49ers kind of roster issues could spend their “lottery” tickets in better ways.