The 49ers don’t have a first round pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft…yet.
There is a real possibility they might have one before the first round is over, depending on if John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan decide that the Deebo Samuel situation is untenable.
For the moment, most of the folks covering the 49ers don’t think it’s likely Deebo will be moved. Both Matt Maiocco and Matt Barrows said on KNBR that it’s far more likely than not that Samuel remains a member of the 49ers through the weekend, a scenario that would also mean he is likely to be on the team for Week 1.
If Deebo is moved, however, the overwhelmingly likely suitor appears to be the New York Jets, who hold a number of picks including No. 10 overall, one that the 49ers would reportedly need in order to part with their star wide out.
If that happens, Barrows named three players San Francisco would consider taking with the No. 10 pick, the first of which being a receiver to replace Deebo on the depth chart.
“If you’re at 10 and you traded Deebo Samuel then Drake London the USC receiver jumps out,” Barrows said on KNBR. “I just wonder whether you couldn’t get London if you traded down to 15 and you picked up another second round pick.”
London put up monster stats at USC last season, catching 88 passes for 1084 yards and 7 touchdowns in just 8 games. London is a big receiver (6’4″219 lbs) in the mold of Mike Evans, and excels at making contested catches. He’s also hard to take down after the catch.
If the Niners decide to go in a different direction, Barrows named two players they could target on the offensive and defensive lines respectively.
“The two guys that would jump out to me if they had to pick at 10 would be London and Jermaine Johnson, the defensive end from Florida State. You have Jermaine Johnson and Nick Bosa and you’re set for the next five years. I know Kris Kocurek would love that combination.
“I sort of like you get to 10 and you parlay that pick and you drop down to say 18, 19 or 20. I like just getting [Tyler] Linderbaum there. Then you don’t have to worry about center. The guy who is going to be the center for Trey Lance for the next decade is now on your team. I think that’s a really nice way to begin the draft.”
Listen to the full interview below. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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