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Will 49ers Draft Georgia Center Jared Wilson on Day 2 of NFL Draft?

Don't be surprised if the 49ers draft Wilson as early as Round 2.
Grant Cohn|
Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Georgia Bulldogs center Jared Wilson (55) in the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Georgia Bulldogs center Jared Wilson (55) in the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images | Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers need a new center.

The current starter, Jake Brendel, isn't good enough. As a run blocker, he's a good fit in the 49ers' zone blocking scheme. As a pass-blocker, he gets pushed around one-on-one because he's small, and he often sets the protections incorrectly before plays. In Kyle Shanahan's offense, the center sets the protections before the snap, not the quarterback. And Brendel struggles at this aspect of his job. Plus, he'll turn 33 in September.

That's why the 49ers could look to draft his eventual replacement. Georgia's Jared Wilson is the top-ranked center and Pro Football Focus calls him one of the top 10 most NFL-ready prospects in the entire draft.

"Wilson is the top-ranked center in a relatively weak class at the position," writes PFF analyst Dalton Wasserman. "However, in his lone year as Georgia’s starter, he led the nation with a 90.5 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets. His command of the Bulldogs’ protections is evident on tape, and he is a functional run blocker, as well. He could be a riser in the coming weeks as teams get to know him — and very well could be a Day 2 pick."

Shanahan doesn't like to play rookies at center because they have to know the offensive system as well as the quarterback does. That's why he could draft Wilson this year, sit him for a season and then have him replace Brendel in 2026.

Don't be surprised if the 49ers draft Wilson as early as Round 2.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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