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Why the 49ers could draft WR Easop Winston Jr. in Round 5

Here are five things to know about one of the most underrated players in the 2020 NFL Draft.

What if the 49ers don’t draft a wide receiver in Round 1 this year? Would you feel disappointed?

We’ve spent so much time debating whether the 49ers should aggressively draft a wide receiver with the 13th pick, or exercise restraint and patience and wait to take a receiver with the 31st pick. But it’s entirely possible the 49ers will take a wide receiver with neither pick.

And maybe that would be the smart, safe move. First-round wide receivers don’t always work out. Remember A.J. Jenkins?

Kyle Shanahan isn’t a general manager, but he helps pick players who fit his scheme. And he never has coached for a team that picked a wide receiver in Round 1 while it employed Shanahan.

Kyle’s father, Mike Shanahan, was the Broncos general manager from 1999 to 2008, and he spent a first-rounder on a wide receiver just once. He picked Ashley Lelie with the 19th pick in 2002. And Lelie never lived up to his draft position.

Perhaps Kyle doesn’t want to make a similar mistake. Perhaps he plans to take a wide receiver in Round 5 -- the 49ers don’t have picks in Rounds 2, 3 or 4.

In Round 5, the 49ers could take someone under the radar: Washington State wide receiver Easop Winston Jr. Here are five things to know about him:

1. Winston grew up in San Francisco and went to Serra High school in San Mateo, the same school Tom Brady and Barry Bonds went to. After high school, Winston played two seasons for City College of San Francisco.

2. In 2018, Winston transferred to Washington state and instantly became the security blanket for quarterback Gardner Minshew, who now starts for the Jaguars. Winston played 26 games in two seasons for Washington State and scored 19 touchdowns.

3. Winston has huge hands and rarely drops passes. Former Washington State head coach Mike Leach called Winston’s hand “oven mitts.” The 49ers could use a sure-handed receiver like Winston to complement Deebo Samuel, who dropped nine passes in 2019.

4. The NFL did not invite Winston to the Scouting Combine. That’s why most draft websites project Winston to be an undrafted free agent. But those draft websites most likely are wrong. Here’s why:

5. Winston ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at his “Virtual Pro Day.” It was “virtual,” because NFL teams couldn’t go -- the current pandemic has prevented them from attending any Pro Day. So Winston went to a high school with his agent and ran a 4.42. That’s fast. See for yourself:

Now teams have to reexamine Winston. Who is he like? Who else is 5’11”, 190-ish pounds and runs a 4.4?

Emmanuel Sanders, that’s who. The guy who started nine games for the 49ers last season and now plays for the Saints.

Winston and Sanders are similar. Winston could be the 49ers’ man.