The 2017 NFL Draft kicks off in just under three weeks, and the San Francisco 49ers will have a chance to add some serious impact players. The No. 2 pick provides them with a whole host of options. There is no clear-cut No. 2 pick for the 49ers after Myles Garrett. Other teams are in a similar boat, but if one team has their high particularly focused on a certain option, it would make sense for the 49ers to trade down.
Given the holes on the 49ers roster, they can go in a lot of directions with the second overall pick. The release of Tramaine Brock means they need cornerback help, but I also think we would have seen them looking cornerback at some point given the quality depth in this year’s class.
The Ringer recently put together a look at each team’s biggest need. We can always say quarterback given the lack of a long-term option on the 49ers roster, but other than that, The Ringer went with edge rusher. They had this to say about the 49ers need:
The 49ers finished second-to-last in pressure rate last year, per Football Outsiders, sacking, hurrying, or forcing opposing quarterbacks to scramble on just 22 percent of passing downs. Moving to an attacking 4–3 scheme under new offensive coordinator Robert Saleh — a big departure from Chip Kelly’s wait-and-react two-gap defense — should help San Francisco generate a little more pressure, but they’ll need the explosive athletes on the edge to do it. As the roster stands now, Aaron Lynch (14 sacks in 37 career games) is just about the only guy who will strike any fear into opposing offensive tackles.
Pro Football Focus recently put together a look at three draft needs for the 49ers. They included quarterback, offensive line, and cornerback, and broke down some early and late draft options for the three positions.
With all that in mind, excluding quarterback, what is the 49ers biggest need right now? I’ve attached a poll, so go ahead and let us know what you think is the biggest need outside of quarterback.
Poll
What’s the 49ers biggest non-QB draft need?
This poll is closed
-
52%
Edge rusher
(936 votes) -
15%
Cornerback
(283 votes) -
5%
Wide Receiver
(107 votes) -
5%
Safety
(91 votes) -
14%
Linebacker
(256 votes) -
1%
Defensive tackle
(29 votes) -
0%
Running Back
(16 votes) -
1%
Offensive Tackle
(19 votes) -
1%
Offensive Guard
(26 votes) -
0%
Center
(12 votes) -
0%
Tight End
(11 votes)