The San Francisco 49ers have the day off from practice, so things are relatively quiet in 49ers land. With that in mind, now seemed as good a time as any to check out friend of the site Matt Miller’s recent 2018 NFL mock draft. So much is going to change between now and next April, and really now and even the end of this month.
That being said, a mock draft this time of year can be interesting for seeing what the roster looks like, and where it might go. Miller put together a full first round mock draft, using rankings based on his own record predictions for the coming season. He has not released his predictions, but he has the 49ers holding the No. 8 overall pick.
With that pick, Miller has the 49ers selecting Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. Some of our draft gurus in the comments probably have strong opinions about Barkley, and can offer a lot more insight than I can. All I know is that if you are going to spend a top ten pick on a running back, he better be pretty damn good.
The thing is, while John Lynch has control of the 90-man roster, Kyle Shanahan and Bobby Turner’s history suggests a first round running back is unlikely. The 49ers are potentially going to lose Carlos Hyde after this season, but if Joe Williams and/or Matt Breida emerge, would a first round running back really happen? I just don’t see it happening, but maybe some of y’all can convince me.