We don’t know yet who will be making draft picks for the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.
But there is a way for this team to land their Derek Carr and Khalil Mack next April — which would make this starvation of a 12 game losing streak completely worth it.
Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett is expected to slip to No. 2 overall, and the bigger news, is that some teams are cooling on Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson’s stock.
In Todd McShay’s recent mock draft, the ESPN NFL Draft expert doesn’t have Watson being selected in the first round — which seems absurd. Watson in the second round could end being as big of a steal as Carr was to the Raiders.
For three straight seasons, Watson completed 67 percent of his passes. He’s launched 86 touchdowns to just 30 interceptions, and added 23 additional touchdowns on the ground. But watch the tape — Watson is not an athletic, scrambling quarterback in the mold of Colin Kaepernick. Watson’s best strength is his accuracy and his ability to throw wide receivers open, which was apparent when he torched Alabama for 400 yards and four touchdowns in a heartbreaking national championship loss last January. He has another chance to win a title this season and will face Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.
One mistake-filled game against Pittsburgh is the constant thing detractors bring up when criticizing Watson this season — and by the way he did throw for 580 yards in that loss, often willing Clemson down the field with his playmaking. Watson did throw his most interceptions this season (15), still a lower total than Jameis Winston’s 18 in his final season with Florida State.
The best thing possible for the 49ers would be for Watson to slip into the second round. They should hope he somehow has an off day at the combine or his pro day. Chip Kelly’s passing offense is 32nd in the NFL, and even if Watson isn’t Watson right away, he’ll be able to add an entirely different element with his accuracy.
But banking on the scenario of Watson slipping on draft day — especially when other credible mock drafts still have him listed in the top 10 — is obviously not a wise strategy.
Unless Jimmy Garoppolo lands on the front stoop, maneuvering back into the first round — which the 49ers did last year when they picked Joshua Garnett — to grab Watson probably is going to be worth the cause. Kaepernick’s bandwagon has shrunk and it’s becoming likelier a new GM would be willing to completely cut bait with the quarterback and eat the money if he doesn’t opt out.
As for the sack monster, Garrett, the 49ers will hope the Cleveland Browns take Jonathan Allen at No. 1 overall. Alabama’s interior lineman would fit any defense, but the 49ers already have taken DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead and are in desperate need of the edge rushing (21 sacks in 23 games) that Garrett can provide.
Back to Watson. Here’s what CBS Sports draft insider Dane Brugler told The Audible about the quarterback Wednesday on KNBR 1050.
“He had a lot of hype coming into this season because of what he did in the national title game against Alabama,” Brugler said. “He had over 400 yards passing, four touchdowns. And anyone whose watched Alabama’s defense understands how tough that is to do against that unit, a Nick Saban coached defense.
“There’s some question marks there.You could point to some games where you say look, this is what you’re getting, looks like an NFL starting quarterback. But then you throw on the Pitt game, that was a loss for Clemson and you see these three interceptions and these throws he should not be making.
“So there’s a lot of hype coming in around him this year, and it was a lot of highs and lows for Deshaun Watson. There’s a reason he finished number two in the Heisman voting, but there’s also a reason he didn’t win it.”
UNC’s Mitch Trubisky was McShay’s first quarterback off the board to the Chiefs at No. 30. But as Brugler points out, the only other quarterbacks to start only one college season and be drafted in the first round are Cam Newton and Mark Sanchez.
Notre Dame’s 6-foot-4, 230 pound strapping athlete DeShone Kizer is the other prospect to consider. Brugler said his ceiling is the highest of the three prospects, but his 58.2 completion percentage (ranked 73rd in the nation) is scaring some teams away.