The 49ers are playing the Miami Dolphins Sunday but GM Trent Baalke has decided to put in some overtime work on the road trip.
The Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting Baalke is in attendance at the Miami-Duke game in Coral Gables.
Hopefully Baalke is taking notes on Miami junior quarterback Brad Kaaya. Some in the mock draft community think Kaaya is worthy of a first round pick, but it’s more likely he’ll last until the second.
Headed into Saturday’s game against the Blue Devils, Kaaya has thrown 19 touchdowns, 9 interceptions and a 61.1 completion percentage. Kaaya is a Los Angeles native and has been a three-year starter for the Hurricanes.
A likely scenario could be the 49ers taking Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett with the No. 2 overall pick and then selecting Kaaya or a wide receiver in the second round.
Other top quarterbacks prospects the 49ers should consider in this draft class include Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, UNC’s Mitch Trubisky, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph and Texas Tech’s Pat Mahomes. Only Watson has made his intentions clear that he will enter the NFL Draft following the season.
The tricky part for CEO Jed York — and whether or not he will keep Baalke — is that a new GM will be very far behind on the college scouting efforts. Stacking a draft board is a year-long process where scouts not only analyze play on the field, but gather information about the prospects background and character.
But given Baalke’s recent track record in the NFL Draft and the 49ers current 1-9 record, York is going to have to strongly consider moving forward without his embattled GM.