The 49ers stayed put. Despite speculation over whether they might make a move up before their first selection at 61 overall, San Francisco held its spot.
With that pick, they selected USC edge rusher Drake Jackson.
This is right about the range where Jackson was predicted to go by most mocks, with some suggesting he could have made it into the first round. Most graded him as a second-round pick. Everyone shared that sentiment, discernibly, except his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who fed this to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
He’s a junior coming out at age 21 and is in some ways viewed as a project, but with the raw tools to succeed despite his smaller, 6’2″, 254-pound frame.
In his final year in college, he was a Second Team All-Pac-12 selection with 5.5 sacks and a team-leading 8.0 tackles for a loss. Here’s a look at his highlights:
He did not run a 40-yard dash in the draft lead-up, but tested extremely well in multiple other categories, with a 91.8 percentile vertical jump and a 96.9 percentile broad jump. His shuttle and 3-cone movements were in 80th-plus percentile, too.
While Jackson is lacking a bit of play strength, he has the speed and bend to get around the edge and is working with a defensive line coach in Kris Kocurek who has an astoundingly good track record in getting the most out of his players.
The 49ers’ next selection is in Round 3 at 93 overall, followed by the 105th overall pick.