© Mark J. Rebilas | 2020 Feb 2
With the draft now less than 10 days away, ESPN’s Mel Kiper dropped his penultimate mock on Tuesday, and made one change to with regards to the 49ers from his previous mock on March 24.
It’s still a wide receiver he has San Francisco taking at No. 13, but no longer Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy, who is considered by most to be the top receiver in the class. Kiper now believes he’ll be selected by the Jaguars at No. 9, and that the 49ers will take CeeDee Lamb, Kiper’s No. 2 receiver in the class, out of Oklahoma at No. 13.
“I love this pick for the 49ers, who lost Emmanuel Sanders in free agency. Lamb is a big-play threat and a technician as a route runner, and he’d be a great complement to the versatility of Deebo Samuel. San Francisco has two first-round picks — it got this one after trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts — but doesn’t have picks in the second, third or fourth rounds, so watch out for a potential trade down to accumulate more assets.”
Interestingly, Kiper has Henry Ruggs III, who some have speculated is Kyle Shanahan’s favorite receiver in this draft, falling to the Eagles at No. 21.
As he had in his previous mock, Kiper still believes the 49ers will take Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene at No. 31. Here’s the updated rationale:
“Since I gave the 49ers a wide receiver with their first pick, consider this two needs filled. The defense had issues on the other side of Richard Sherman all last season, and Sherman is 32 and only signed through 2020. San Francisco has to get younger here. Igbinoghene is raw, but he has tremendous upside. He’s also a dynamite kick returner — check out this 96-yard TD return. As I mentioned earlier, the 49ers could trade down from this pick with teams wanting to get back into the first round to draft someone and attain his fifth-year option.”
The NFL Draft is still scheduled for April 23-25.