It’s two weeks until the NFL Draft, which means teams have locked in strategy, are narrowing down their draft boards, and are really focusing on the all-important process of putting out smokescreens.
The next two weeks will be filled with rumor and innuendo (as if any time in the NFL is without those things), so let’s lock in what we know about the 49ers heading into this draft and make some picks along the way:
No. 15. Troy Fautanu. OT. Washington
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Trade: Nos. 31, 94, 124, and 176 and next year’s third-round pick for No. 15
The 49ers have made their intentions clear going into this draft: they will be taking a tackle.
Not just to possibly replace right tackle Colton McKivitz, who is fine, but to possibly replace Trent Williams, who fends off retirement rumors like opposing pass rushers near the end of every season.
This is an elite tackle class, and while the Niners can stay at No. 31 and hope the player(s) they want fall to them, it would make more sense to push some of the team’s significant chips to the middle of the table, get ahead of some other teams eying a tackle, and draft one a player who would be a surefire top-10 pick in any other draft class.
Go up and get Troy Fautanu.
Some in the draft analysis community suggest that Fautanu, the Washington left tackle, should play guard in the NFL.
Those people are stupid.
Sorry, I can’t sugarcoat it.
Can he play guard? Absolutely. He can probably play center, too.
But Fautanu is something close to a perfect outside-zone tackle prospect. You might look at him at 6-foot-3 and think he’s undersized for the position. Tell that to his 81-inch wingspan — making him effectively 6-foot-9. He’s smooth on his feet and has a nose for finding folks to block in the open field. He’s brilliant on pin-pull blocks and is the kind of tackle that will be the lead screener for wide receivers in a Shanahan offense.
He’s the player the 49ers need to land.
It’s almost criminal that Fautanu will be available at 15, but with the Seattle Seahawks — who had an up-close-and-personal look at him being from the same city and all — looming at No. 16, the 49ers have no reason to be cute.
Trade the first, third, and a comp pick — plus that pick they received for Trey Lance No. 124 (a pick they cannot, under any circumstances, use, lest they draw more attention to the fact they traded three first-round picks for Lance and only received a couple of games and fourth-round pick for their trouble) and a pick next year, to ensure the deal gets done — and rest easy knowing that you have plugged at least one gap on the offensive line (he can play all five spots), and probably landed a right tackle for this season and your left tackle of the future.
No. 63. T’Vondre Sweat. DT. Texas
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No one is more fun to watch in this draft, and I’m including every skill position player on the board.
Sweat is, frankly, too big to move that fast.
There’s no good reason Sweat would be available at No. 63, just like there was no good reason for him to be picked up for DWI before the draft.
But the Niners need someone like him in the middle of their line — big, beefy boy who can immediately affect the run game.
It’s a huge win for them to be able to add a player like that at No. 63 and still get the athleticism that the organization—and specifically defensive line coach Kris Kocurek values—is a huge win, even if it means some PR issues in the short term.
No. 132. Tanor Bortolini. C. Wisconsin
Smart, versatile, rugged, and mobile, Bortolini offers the Kyle Shanahan wants in a center.
A few weeks ago, Bortolini was a late Day 3 option. Now, he’s pushing up on Day 2, with plenty of buzz around his name.
I’m not surprised. A lot of teams run a wide-zone offense — the Shanahan system — making Bortolini a valuable commodity to roughly half the league. His ability to play guard as well (he played some tackle at Wisconsin, but something would have to go horribly wrong for him to do that at the NFL level) provides even more value.
The Niners say they’re serious about upgrading their offensive line this April. Landing a left tackle and center of the future would do precisely that.
No. 135. Tyrone Tracy Jr. WR/RB. Purdue
I still consider Tracy my favorite deep-cut prospect in the draft. At worst, Tracy will be a replacement for Ray Ray McCloud who can return kicks and punts—both vital roles in the modern game, especially with the new kickoff rules.
But if Tracy hits — and I bet that he hits — he’s a “WideBack” who can be a Deebo Samuel replacement, which the 49ers will need at the end of the ’24 season.
As the Niners need both roles — returner and Deebo understudy — filled, Tracy seems like an obvious Day 3 choice.
No. 211. Trajan Jeffcoat. DE. Arkansas
He has the frame. He has the 10-foot broad jump. What he lacks is the production and the motor. The trade-off is that at the NFL level, no one will be using him anywhere close to every snap, even if he’s a stud.
As a rookie, I think he can give the 49ers what Randy Gregory or Chase Young did last year. That might not sound like much, but that’s a knock on Chase and Gregory — it’s a decent floor at No. 211.
No. 215. Edefuan Ulofoshio. LB. Washington
A linebacker who reads the game well and packs a punch, even with a lanky frame, Ulofoshio can be a special teams option on Day One and a nice depth piece at linebacker, with the ability to play weak-side or middle.
No. 251. Taulia Tagovailoa. QB. Maryland.
If the 49ers have learned any lesson about the draft, it’s to take quarterbacks in the seventh round. Just do it every year.
This year, I suggest they select the Big Ten’s All-Time leading passer with a shockingly nice deep ball.
It’s a no-risk, all-reward play.