{"id":872122,"date":"2026-04-22T19:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/872122\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T19:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:30:13","slug":"what-is-the-dream-scenario-for-the-49ers-in-round-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/872122\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the dream scenario for the 49ers in Round 1?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">We\u2019re a day away from the NFL Draft. The San Francisco 49ers are in a position where they\u2019ll need to be open to selecting a player they don\u2019t view as a \u201cneed.\u201d When you\u2019re selecting at the end of the 1st round, anything is possible. In fact, it\u2019s more likely there will be a wrench thrown in your plans well before you\u2019re on the clock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">There have been two veteran additions at wide receiver this offseason, as well as a prominent interior pass rusher. Throw in a couple of experienced offensive linemen, and the Niners have put themselves in a position to take the best player available on Thursday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">John Lynch didn\u2019t have much to say during his pre-draft presser. At least, he didn\u2019t tip his hand or give any indication of who the team is considering. Again, how could he know with the team picking so late in the first round? We don\u2019t have much information to go on, but we\u2019ll talk about what a potential dream scenario would look like for the 49ers.<\/p>\n<p>What is the dream scenario for the 49ers in Round 1?<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">My answer: Other teams can do the 49ers multiple favors by selecting late-rising players who didn\u2019t sniff first-round talk four and five months ago. Take Malachi Lawrence, a pass rusher from Central Florida, for example. Sure, he tested well. But when you watch him, the pad level is inconsistent, and when it\u2019s time for contact, there are too many exposures of any momentum built coming to a screeching halt. Those passive players are not the ones who made the 49ers a perennial playoff team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The sweet spot for an edge rusher isn\u2019t in the first round. Ideally, the prospects who have been propped up are off the board by the time the Niners are on the clock. That\u2019s the dream scenario. Where the 49ers aren\u2019t put in a position to reach for a player.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">A team taking offensive tackle Caleb Lomu over Max Iheanachor or Blaker Miller would be a win for the 49ers. The same is true for Omar Cooper Jr. and any other undersized receiver over the likes of Chris Bell and Denzel Boston.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Defensive back is flying under the radar. Would you rather CB4(Chris Johnson out of San Diego State) or OT8? That should be an easy decision. Teams haven\u2019t prioritized safety in the first round, making Emmanuel McNeil-Warren a candidate to slip to Day 2.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The dream scenario would involve Iheanachor or Miller being available, or within striking distance for a trade-up. That\u2019s my answer. What\u2019s yours? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re a day away from the NFL Draft. The San Francisco 49ers are in a position where they\u2019ll&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,6,85370,52067,1138,1137],"class_list":{"0":"post-872122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-analysis","11":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-roster","12":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-draft","13":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116450022115496619","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}