The San Francisco 49ers put together a strong class of early picks in the 2017 NFL draft, landing two of the top three players on their draft board in Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster. They added an intriguing cornerback option in Ahkello Witherspoon in the third round, and then moved back into the back end of the third round to make a play on a quarterback they liked in C.J. Beathard.
The team will expect plenty from their two first round picks this season and into the future. The third round picks are plenty important as well. But it is the six picks on day three that could provide the kinds of diamonds in the rough and key depth to build a contender.
With that in mind, I thought I’d see what people think of the long-term prospects of the team’s day three picks. Here are all six of the 49ers day three picks.
4 (121). RB Joe Williams
5 (146). TE George Kittle
5 (177). WR Trent Taylor
6 (198). DT D.J. Jones
6 (202). OLB Pita Taumoepenu
7 (229). DB Adrian Colbert
Williams is a favorite to get some serious chances behind Carlos Hyde, and could very well replace him in 2018. Kittle is joining a tight end depth chart that is seeing all sorts of possible changes. However, I think Trent Taylor is more likely to stick around longest from this group. Jeremy Kerley is the team’s slot receiver for now, but I could see Taylor securing that role and turning into a productive option.
Taumoepenu is an intriguing as well. He is incredibly raw, but he has some intriguing pass rushing tools. The offensive players make some sense in a Kyle Shanahan offense, but with the change son defense, Taumoepenu is particularly intriguing.
What do you think?
Poll
Who will be a member of the 49ers the longest?
This poll is closed
-
34%
RB Joe Williams
-
28%
TE George Kittle
-
28%
WR Trent Taylor
-
4%
DT D.J. Jones
-
4%
OLB Pita Taumoepenu
-
1%
DB Adrian Colbert