A week from today, we’ll be talking about which prospect the San Francisco 49ers selected on the first night of the draft and looking at potential options for the team in the second round.
The majority of the 49ers’ 30 visits have been at one position. As of a week ago, at least. This week, it seems there are new prospects every day.
Trackers are difficult, as we don’t know what qualifies as what. For example, the athletic’s Matt Barrows said the 49ers were “doing a lot of work on Mike Washington” on his podcast earlier this month. Washington is a running back out of Arkansas who is a big-play waiting to happen. He’d be a great fit, but how do you quantify them doing work on a prospect other than interest?
Then there’s the list of 15 or so prospects for whom the 49ers either attended their pro day or met with them there. Let’s take Memphis offensive tackle Travis Burke, for example.
The fifth-year senior from a zone-heavy scheme who stands 6’8 3/4 probably garners more interest from the team, potentially looking for the successor of a future Hall of Famer, than the semifinalist for the Lou Groza award, who they met with a month after extending Eddy Pineiro.
The 49ers’ first-round draft picks under the current regime:
DL
OT
DL
DL
WR
QB
WR
DL
Deebo Samuel was the fourth pick of the 2019 second round, while Dante Pettis was the 12th pick of the 2018 draft. John Lynch and the front office have shown us, through their words and actions, which positions they want to build this team around.
Heading into Friday, here is the most updated list of prospects the Niners have hosted on a 30-visit. Some of these have been verified by various reporters or the players themselves via their social media:
Washington WR Denzel Boston
Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell
Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion
Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.
Texas Tech WR Caleb Douglas
Georgia WR Colbie Young
The first four are considered top-50 picks. Douglas and Young are projected to go in the seventh round. Stylistically, Boston and Brazzell are polar opposites of Concepcion and Cooper Jr. It makes you wonder if the Niners visited with one of these wideouts, whom they have zero interest in, to distract from their actual intentions.
Trigg was on our list of prospects to target in the fourth round. The Athletic’s Matt Barrows listed him in a recent article. He’s 240 pounds. You’re not going to use that body type to block somebody at the first level. But the fifth-year senior is a mismatch in the passing game. And if you can ever get away with a tight end his size as a blocker, it’s one with a wingspan in the 99th percentile.
Trigg is fun. It doesn’t take long to realize his speed. Plus, he plays with aggression. Baylor would use Trigg as an insert blocker occasionally. On those plays, he’s a pseudo fullback taking on a linebacker. You can teach him a better technique. You can’t teach his physical gifts. He was also used as the lead blocker on screen passes. You don’t do that if you think Trigg can’t execute.
Utah OL Caleb Lomu
Alabama OL Kaydn Proctor
Oregon OL Alex Harkey
Lomu and Proctor feel like contingency plans if the receivers and pass rushers the 49ers value aren’t on the board. Each tackle is over 6’6”, which is consistent with Mike McGlinchey (6’7 7/8”).
Michigan EDGE Jaishawn Barham
Texas Tech EDGE Romello Height
UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence
Barham is another new name. He’s also 240 pounds, one pound heavier than Height. Lawrence is listed at 253 pounds, but Barham plays the biggest. He’s undersized from a height/weight perspective, but played in a scheme that asked him to set the edge. Barham did not disappoint. There may be some untapped potential with the former Wolverine. He’s projected to be drafted in the late third round.
Oklahoma LB Kendal Daniels
Texas Tech S Cole Wisniewski
These two defenders are UDFA and special teams candidates.