r/NFL_Draft Community Mock Draft – 49ers

Hey everyone! This weekend I was the GM for the 49ers in the r/NFL_Draft community mock draft, and I figured I'd post the results here! Let me know your thoughts and questions if you have any! And of course shout out to the other people in the war room with me, it was a blast.

RESULTS SPREADSHEET HERE:

We examined trade-up options from 31, but were not able to find good value. So when we got to 31 and saw a weird board, we elected to trade back. Our friends the Texans sent 2.42 and 3.86 in exchange for 1.31, which was value I felt good about, especially as I planned to move back up later. 

At 42, we took Christian Haynes, a guy who I absolutely love. I think he has pro bowl potential in our scheme and could start at guard immediately, allowing us to use Feliciano as a backup guard/center. 
At 63, we had planned on taking a defensive tackle, but all of our favorites went off the board extremely quickly. So we went best player available: Mike Sainristil. As a day 1 starter at nickel corner, Sainristil allows us to play Lenoir outside and keeps us from having to rely on Ambry Thomas ever again.

In round 3, we examined multiple trades as well, before settling on picking at 86 and moving up from 94. We traded 3.94 and 4.135 to the Saints for 3.90 and a 2025 5th (which we were missing due to the accounting error). 

At 86, we took Christian Jones. He’s one of my favorite tackle prospects in the class, and I expect him to start at right tackle sooner rather than later. 
At 90, we traded up for Malik Washington. The wide receivers were starting to come off the board very quickly, so we knew we had to move up for our guy. Washington is a small yet explosive player who is bound to make an impact, especially if we eventually move away from Deebo.

At 124, we took Malik Mustapha, back to back Maliks! Mustapha is a hard-hitting explosive safety, and provides immediate depth as well as long-term option power in case we can’t pay Hufanga. 
At 132, we took Jaheim Bell. He’s a really interesting position-less player that we think Kyle Shanahan would love to move all around the offense.

In round 5, we wanted to use some more day 3 capital to move up, so we struck a deal with the Chiefs: 5.176, 6.211, and 7.251 for 5.159 and 7.221. This allowed us to consolidate our assets a bit while moving up for players we really wanted.
At 159, that guy was Marist Liufau. He’s a toolsy linebacker with a nice frame, who allows us to potentially move off of Greenlaw if necessary, or insurance if De’Vondre Campbell is cooked. 

At 215, we needed a defensive tackle, and Fabian Lovett is a role-specific guy I liked. We’ve got ample pass rushers on the interior, but needed some beef and run defense, so Lovett was an easy selection.

Finally, at 221, we elected for another cornerback: Chau Smith-Wade. We see him as an inside-outside guy, similar to Deommodore Lenoir coming out of Oregon, with a good mentality. 

I absolutely love this class. I wish we could have addressed DT earlier, but I can easily see the path for each of these players to impactful snaps by next year at the latest. 

Full 49ers Class:
2.42: Christian Haynes, G, UConn
2.63: Mike Sainristil, CB, Michigan
3.86: Christian Jones, T, Texas
3.90: Malik Washington, WR, Virginia
4.124: Malik Mustapha, S, Wake Forest
4.132: Jaheim Bell, TE, Florida State
5.159: Marist Liufau, LB, Notre Dame
6.215: Fabian Lovett, DT, Florida State
7.221: Chau Smith-Wade, CB, Washington State

UDFAs that I would've targeted include:
Jawhar Jordan, RB, Louisville
Javontae Jean-Baptiste, EDGE, Notre Dame
Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Maryland
Jacob Monk, C, Duke
Chigozie Anusiem, CB, Colorado St
Tatum Bethune, LB, Florida State