Grant Cohn's Final 49ers Mock Draft for 2021
This is my best attempt to predict the picks and moves the 49ers will make in the upcoming draft.
Here goes nothing.
Round 1, Pick 3: Trey Lance, Quarterback, North Dakota State.
The 49ers reportedly are split between Lance and Mac Jones. But the 49ers can't take Jones because he lacks natural ability and comes with character concerns. He had a DUI, he's in a video that just surfaced in which he seems drunk at a bar and he has a beer belly.
Drafting Jones with the No. 3 pick would be outrageously unpopular, a borderline scandal. So instead, the 49ers will take Lance, who has no character concerns, and has the potential to be great.
Round 2, Pick 43: Aaron Robinson, Cornerback, Central Florida.
A six-foot corner who can play outside and in the slot, which means he can be the 49ers' top backup corner as a rookie, then replace Jason Verrett in 2022.
Round 3, Pick 102: Trevon Grimes, Wide Receiver, Florida.
A six-foot-four receiver who runs a 4.5 40-yard dash. Grimes is big and fast and dominates in the red zone, which is why he scored 9 touchdowns in 2020. He can replace Kendrick Bourne's red-zone production.
Round 4, Pick 117: Jamar Johnson, Safety, Indiana.
A versatile safety who can replace Jimmie Ward or Jaquiski Tartt if either were to miss time with an injury.
TRADE: Picks 172 and 180 to the Packers for Pick 135
Round 4, Pick 135: Kendrick Green, Guard, Illinois.
An athletic interior lineman who fits the 49ers outside-zone run-blocking scheme.
Round 5, Pick 155: Jonathon Cooper, Defensive End, Ohio State.
A top-50 national recruit coming out of high school, Cooper never became a consistent starter at Ohio State but has lots of potential for a fifth-round edge rusher.
Round 6, Pick 194: Drew Dalman, Center, Stanford.
A local product who's the son of Chris Dalman, the 49ers starting center from 1996 to 1999. The 49ers originally drafted Chris Dalman in 1993 when Mike Shanahan was their offensive coordinator, so now Mike's son can draft Chris' son.
Round 7, Pick 230: Javian Hawkins, Running Back, Louisville.
A big-play running back who has potential as a receiver out of the backfield and is a perfect fit for the 49ers zone-blocking scheme.
