Golden Nuggets: Is Jerry Jeudy not highly regarded across the NFL?

Now that we are officially three weeks away from the NFL Draft, prepare to hear a lot of opinions, takes and predictions about what teams are looking for heading into April 23.

The San Francisco 49ers two picks in the first-round, No. 13 and No. 31 and there are a lot of rumors circulating that the Niners are looking to pick a receiver with their first selection.

One of the players linked to the 49ers is Alabama receiver Jerry Jeudy, who is projected to be one of the first two pass catchers to come off the board.

On his recent podcast, Chris Simms of NBC Sports says that while some of a high opinion of Jeudy, people he has been in contact with from around the NFL aren’t sold on the 20-year-old.

“To my four or five closest friends in the NFL, I sent them my top wide receiver list, You know, I got very positive feedback, actually. I really did. I had a few go, ‘Hey, Jeudy’s not in your top five. Are you doing this on your top five or who you think is going to go in the first round?’ I went, ‘No, I’m going with what I think is the top five.’ And they were all, ‘Oh, OK. That’s good.’ You know, everyone thinks Jeudy’s going in the first round. But I will say, from some of my close friends and the conversations I’ve had with them, I don’t think Jeudy is as loved by the whole NFL as everybody thinks he is.”

Simms is a good friend of Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan, so it wouldn’t be shocking to find out the two have spoken about Jeudy.

The two other receivers that have been linked to the 49ers are Cee Dee Lamb and Henry Ruggs III, but Simms likes another pass catcher that should be available at No. 13, LSU’s Justin Jefferson.

“Right now, everyone has Jeudy as one of the first two receivers off the board. I want to go, tell me why you’d take Jeudy over Jefferson. That doesn’t make sense to me. Jefferson’s bigger. He’s faster. He has way better film, better catches in traffic, better yards and plays after the catch.”

I disagree with Simms that Jefferson is better than Jeudy, who has superior route running skills and although he didn’t impress with his combine performance, seems to be the player with more upside.

It all comes down to availability and choice. We don’t know what the teams ahead of the Niners will do, but with Shanahan’s ability to bring the most out his receivers, I am putting my trust in Kyle.

What do you think of Simms’ analysis?

Here some more 49ers links from around the web:

What 49ers’ options are with $15.7 million left in cap space? (NBC Bay Area)

Top 49ers games of past decade: Kaepernick dominates early years (Branch)

How analytics show Jimmy Garoppolo as one of NFL’s better starting QBs (NBC Sports)

Why expanded NFL Playoffs hurts 49ers Super Bowl chances (SI)

49ers’ D..J. Jones switches agencies (Pro Football Rumors)

Bills pursued Emmanuel Sanders before making Stefon Diggs deal (Buffalo News)

Why Donte Whitner thinks 49ers found slot receiver in Travis Benjamin (NBC Bay Area)