Six Talented Players the 49ers probably will NOT take with the 13th Pick

Jerry Jeudy is one of them.

49ers general manager John Lynch made his draft plans clear earlier this week. He said he “hopes” to trade down, because there are only six “foundational” players he would take with the 13th pick. “Foundational” means a player a team can build around for the next decade. "Foundational" is the key word.

Here are six highly-talented potential-top-10-picks the 49ers probably do NOT consider “foundational” players. Meaning the 49ers likely would rather trade down than draft any of these six players the 13th pick.

1. LSU Quarterback Joe Burrow.

Burrow won’t fall to the 13th pick -- the Bengals almost certainly will take him No. 1. 

But even if he were to fall to pick 13, the 49ers probably wouldn’t take him. They’d probably trade down instead.

Burrow is a terrific prospect, but not much different than Jimmy Garoppolo. They're similar. Burrow doesn’t have a stronger arm and isn’t more mobile than Garoppolo -- Burrow simply is younger and cheaper. But he probably wouldn’t be better than Garoppolo in the immediate future.

The 49ers most likely won’t have OTAs or minicamp this year, meaning it would be extremely difficult to prepare a rookie quarterback to start Week 1. Drafting Burrow and trading Garoppolo would make the 49ers worse in 2020.

2. Alabama Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa certainly could drop to the 13th pick -- he dislocated his hip last season, and Covid 19 has prevented NFL teams from examining his recovery with their doctors. Drafting him with a top-10 pick would be highly risky.

Still, some people compare Tagovailoa to Steve Young. And Kyle Shananahan’s father, Mike Shanahan, won a Super Bowl with Young in 1994. It’s possible Shanahan believes he could win a Super Bowl with Tagovailoa, who’s more mobile, less turnover prone and a better downfield passer than Garoppolo.

But the 49ers probably would pass on Tagovailoa for the same reason they probably would pass on Burrow. They can’t get a rookie quarterback up to speed by Week 1 this season. Garoppolo’s starting job should be safe for at least another year.

3. Alabama Wide Receiver Jerry Jeudy.

Wide receivers are not foundational players. Teams don’t build their rosters around receivers unless the receiver is Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson or Jerry Rice.

Jeudy is good, but not Rice good.

Jeudy is a finesse receiver, like Dante Pettis. A nifty route runner and a weapon after the catch, but not a particularly tough guy over the middle. Which means he’s limited.

The 49ers almost certainly will not draft a limited wide receiver with the 13th pick.

4. Oklahoma Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Unlike Jeudy, Lamb is incredibly tough over the middle. But he has limitations, too.

Lamb is not particularly big or fast or athletic. He was dominant in the Big 12, where lots of NFL washouts performed well because they faced terrible defenses.

Lamb is not the next Julio Jones or Calvin Johnson -- he might be the next Michael Crabtree. And Crabtree was a quality player before he tore his Achilles. But he was not a foundational player. Not even close.

5. Iowa Offensive Tackle Tristan Wirfs.

Wirfs will be an elite right tackle or guard, but right tackles and guards aren’t foundational players. Left tackles are. And the 49ers will need a left tackle soon to replace Joe Staley, who got injured twice last season and will turn 36 in August.

Wirfs cannot replace Staley, because Wirfs is not a left tackle. He would struggle at that position.

6. Louisville Offensive Tackle Mekhi Becton.

Becton is a left tackle -- no question about it. But he’s also 364 pounds.

The 49ers had a 380-pound offensive tackle, Trent Brown, who was elite -- he currently plays for the Raiders. In 2018, the 49ers traded Brown and a fifth-round pick to the Patriots for a third-round pick, because they felt he was too big and didn’t think he fit their zone-blocking scheme.

Becton is Brown 2.0 -- a terrific prospect who’s not for every team. Don’t expect to see him on the 49ers next season.