Golden Nuggets: Mobile to Miami

One thing that seems to be forgotten in all the Super Bowl talk is the fact that it’s Senior Bowl week. Don’t get me wrong, having our team play in the Super Bowl is very fun to talk about, and arguing with all the haters that are trying to force this narrative that Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t any good happens to be an equally efficient way to waste your time, but the Super Bowl is a whole other week away and the Pro Bowl stopped being good years ago.

Draft season happens to be one of my favorite times of the year. There’s just all this potential and hope, scratching and clawing for a chance to realize their lifelong dream, and it’s great to imagine how each skill set fits into your team, how one guy has the power to change the direction of the franchise. This week, John Lynch has taken his “Mobile to Miami” mantra to the Senior Bowl to help try to uncover that next piece of the puzzle for us. Like the two players from last year, Deebo Samuel (who Kyle Shanahan got an up close view of) and Dre Greenlaw.

The lack of draft picks definitely hurts their ability to get a Fred Warner (who played in the 2018 Senior Bowl), but trading out of the 1st round is probably the best way to go. One guy I’m keeping an eye out for is the Edge prospect out of Alabama, Terrell Lewis. There is no guarantee that Ronald Blair sticks around this offseason, so a reliable rotational piece might be a huge need. Lewis is crazy athletic and can provide that speed element that is lacking when Dee Ford is out. The reason he’ll most likely fall down draft boards is the same reason people are wondering if they should move on from Ford: his durability. He tore an elbow ligament that caused him to miss most of his sophomore season and then tore his ACL in the summer camp leading up to his junior year. He stayed healthy this past year and made Second Team All-SEC and is currently impressing at the Senior Bowl practices.

Has anyone caught your eye?

On to those links...

• Super Bowl 2020 betting tips: What stats, power ratings say about 49ers-Chiefs line, props and more (R.J. White, CBS Sports)
• Why some NFL coaches, execs think Chiefs will blow out 49ers in Super Bowl 54 (Marcus White, NBC Sports)
• Packers coach Matt LaFleur bothered by team’s lack of fire vs. 49ers (Rob Demovsky, ESPN)
• 49ers’ Emmanuel Sanders was excited to ‘manhandle’ Packers in run game (Brian Witt, NBC Sports)
• 49ers’ run to Super Bowl means a little more to Joe Staley (Nick Wagoner, ESPN)
• Tevin Coleman out, 3 key players on defense limited in 49ers estimate practice report (Kyle Madson, Niners Wire)
• Super Bowl 54: 49ers’ Mike McGlinchey calls out Jimmy Garoppolo naysayers (Jessica Kleinschmidt, NBC Sports)
• 2020 Super Bowl: 49ers, Kyle Juszczyk shared a vision for San Francisco’s rebuild; a gamble that has paid off (Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports)
• NFL rumors: 49ers making ‘late push’ to keep Joe Woods on coaching staff (Brian Witt, NBC Sports)
• 49ers’ Katie Sowers First Female, Openly Gay Coach in Super Bowl History (Avery Yang, Sports Illustrated)

Around the league...

• Eli Manning retires after 16 NFL seasons (Jordan Raanan, ESPN)
• Philip Rivers is moving to Florida and here’s the NFL team in the state he’s already being linked to (John Breech, CBS Sports)
• Antonio Brown arrest warrant issued in battery incident, reports say (Paulina Dedaj, Fox News)
• NFL video featuring Botham Jean calls for change (Lynnanne Nguyen, Fox 4 News)
• NFL’s most underperforming units of 2019: 10 big problem areas (Cynthia Frelund, NFL.com)
• NFL to Test New Rules at Pro Bowl (Devon Clements, Sports Illustrated)
• 2020 Senior Bowl, Day 2: Justin Herbert sizzles; Bears eye TE (Chase Goodbread and Lance Zierlein, NFL.com)

... I have spoken