The 49ers have put together consecutive quality drafts and it helped guide them to a Super Bowl berth in the 2019 season. Now they need to hit a home run in the 2020 draft if they’re going to extend their championship window.
Their issue going into the draft is a lack of resources. They own their own first-round pick, but none after that until the fifth.
Because of that, they need to be diligent with how they distribute those picks among their positional needs. Free agency will play a key role in how these needs ultimately shake out, but here are the top four before free agency.
Wide receiver
While Deebo Samuel emerged as a do-everything star in his rookie season, the 49ers still have too many question marks at receiver to ignore it in the draft. Kendrick Bourne had a good year and is a restricted free agent, while Emmanuel Sanders is an unrestricted free agent coming off another strong season. The 33-year-old veteran may wind up getting a larger deal on the open market than San Francisco can afford. Dante Pettis fell out of the rotation this season, and Richie James Jr. saw minimal offensive snaps. Trent Taylor had five procedures on his injured foot in the offseason, and Jalen Hurd missed his whole rookie year with a back injury.
There’s a lot of potential in that group, but the massive question marks among them make the position one the 49ers have to consider in this year’s draft. Draft analysts are already lauding the depth of this year’s crop of receiver prospects, so it’s not out of the question San Francisco snags a quality prospect late in the first round or outside of it.
Cornerback
The only sure things the 49ers have at corner going into next season are Richard Sherman and nickel corner K’Waun Williams. Ahkello Witherspoon is entering his fourth season after another up-and-down year as a starter where he got benched during the team’s Super Bowl run. His replacement, Emmanuel Moseley, is on the final year of his rookie deal after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2018. While Moseley played well in 2019, he’s not necessarily a lock to maintain a starting role going into next season and beyond.
Sherman is entering his age 32 season in the final year of his contract. Finding a player to compete for a starting job across from him with Witherspoon and Moseley is important this year, but finding a long-term replacement for Sherman will have to be a priority for the 49ers sooner rather than later.
Safety
The 49ers’ need at safety hinges a lot on what happens with starting free safety Jimmie Ward in free agency. If Ward returns, which he’s said he wants to, San Francisco’s need at this spot would diminish significantly with Ward and starting strong safety Jaquiski Tartt set to return. Their depth is passable for now.
However, if Ward exits, safety shoots to the top of the team’s list of needs. Tartt’s skill set is better suited to play the strong safety spot. The same goes for Marcell Harris, who’s entering his third season after some up-and-down outings as a starter at strong safety while Tartt nursed a rib injury over the final four weeks of the season. Tarvarius Moore started the first three games when Ward was out to start the year and played well as a third safety in the Super Bowl.
While the depth is adequate, finding a prospect who can step in and take over as the starting free safety right away may wind up becoming a top priority for the 49ers.
Defensive line
Adding another defensive lineman in the draft seems like overkill at first glance. The 49ers had the best defensive front in the league last year, but they could be losing two key members of that line with Arik Armstead and Ronald Blair set to hit free agency. Armstead and his versatility will command a significant raise in 2020, but Blair is coming off an ACL tear and may come at something of a discount for a productive rotational defensive end.
Even if both players return though, tacking on additional depth on the line couldn’t hurt. San Francisco was at its best rushing the passer when they had several bodies to cycle through and get after the quarterback in all four quarters. Grabbing an interior lineman to compete for snaps and shore up their run defense makes sense as well. It may not be worth a Day 1 or early Day 2 pick, but using a mid-round pick on a lineman would probably be wise for the 49ers.
