The 49ers selected a pair of players from Kyle Shanahan’s alma mater, as well as another SEC pass rusher.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates had a dueling mock draft where they alternated picks in each of the first three rounds. At No. 11, the San Francisco 49ers selected an offensive lineman from Kyle Shanahan’s alma mater:
Yates’ pick: Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
While Trent Williams will be the 49ers’ starting left tackle as long as he is still playing, San Francisco must be forward-thinking. After all, Williams is turning 37 this year. Banks has a massive 84⅜-inch wingspan, 42 starts of experience and really impressive quickness.
Banks feels more like a player you take in the top half of the second than first round, but the appeal is obvious. Banks is good at everything. His first round trait is processing. Coincidentally, the athletic profile Banks matches up with the second-most, Dominick Puni, per Mockdraftable. Banks falls off too many blocks for me and loses at the point of attack enough to think he’s not worthy of that fifth-year option.
It also goes without saying that Banks would be an upgrade at either left guard or right tackle, thus making him a solid addition, regardless of the round.
The 49ers stayed in the SEC in the second round:
Yates’ pick: James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee
San Francisco will be using its 11 picks to check off needs, one of which is pass-rush depth. Pearce displays effortless movement skills and bend off the edge.
Pearce was the No. 1 overall projected player in every mock draft before the season began. It never made sense then. He began to slip and has now all but fallen out of the first round.
He’s 245 pounds, with arm length in the 21st percentile and a vertical jump in the 23rd percentile. Yes, Pearce ran a 4.47 40-yard dash, but that vertical is concerning and telling. To me, it signals that Pearce doesn’t have “a lot of sand in his pants” to hold up. And you can see that when it came time to take on blockers.
The good news is that Pearce knows how to play the position when it’s time to rush the passer. He has pop in his hands, above-average hand usage, and can win in a variety of ways.
He has strong Vic Beasley vibes, as he feels like a player who will primarily contribute on passing downs in hopes of being net neutral. However, there are concerns about his motor, which might remove him from the 49ers’ board altogether.
What’s better than one prospect from Texas? Two.
Yates’ pick: Alfred Collins, DT, Texas
Collins is a big presence in the middle of the defensive line at 6-foot-6 and 332 pounds, and he has 34⅝-inch arms. He’d fill another need for the 49ers, who released Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins.
You won’t find me complaining about Collins in the third round. I’ve seen him read screenplays, force fumbles, beat up on tight ends, win with the length Yates talks about, and be productive for multiple stretches during a game. Collins is more of a nose tackle, but he needs to get stronger. You can see him get moved by double teams, and it looks like lower-body strength is an issue. That’s something you can improve, making Collins the best value pick of the first three picks.
With their final pick in the third round, the 49ers addressed a need in the secondary:
100. San Francisco 49ers*
Kiper’s pick: Upton Stout, CB, Western Kentucky
Corners have flown off the board, but the 49ers still get a good one near the end of Round 3. Stout had six interceptions over the past three years, and he had 10 run stops last season, showing his diverse skill set.
Stout is a player we drafted in a mock draft back in February. Stout is a nickel, so he’d have to co-exist with Deommodore Lenoir in this hypothetical situation. He played more than half of his snaps in the slot at Western Kentucky, and split the other half at various positions, from free safety to a perimeter cornerback.
Stout is the yin to Pearce’s yang if we talk about motor. He plays fast, has closing speed, and flies around on the field. When you’re 5’8 1/2 and 181 pounds, you have to play with your hair on fire. Stout reminds me of Amik Robertson, who has bounced around the NFL since being drafted in 2020, but has stuck because he’s competitive and overall a feisty player.
How would you feel about these four picks? Scroll down and let us know in the comments.