Kevin Durant thinks the 49ers should draft Malik Hooker, who agrees with that notion

Thing I learned on Wednesday: Kevin Durant is a big college football fan. The Golden State Warriors have time off before the second round, and the media had a chance to chat with them on Wednesday. During that session, Durant told Tim Kawakami that if he had the call for the San Francisco 49ers, he would select Ohio State safety Malik Hooker.

It turns out Hooker heard the word, and is a fan of it, based on this retweet.

I suppose not all retweets are endorsements, but Hooker would seem to be excited about the prestige of being the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. It’s not like we can really blame him for that. There is often talk of certain players wanting to go to certain teams, but for the most part, it’s safe to say most players just wanted to be picked as high as possible. The further down the draft you go, players might start to look more team-specific, but for someone like Hooker, the higher he goes the better for him.

Safety remains an interesting position in assessing potential landing spots. People will say, “How can you suggest a safety that high in the draft. That never happens.” It may not, but if the 49ers or any team thinks Hooker and/or Jamal Adams are that much better than the rest of the class, then why not spend the pick? You’re looking for the best options you can find, and if it just so happens to be a safety, so be it.