We went with a cornerback who could be Robert Saleh’s Sauce Gardner by Year 3.
On Wednesday, we asked which NFL Draft prospect you wanted the San Francisco 49ers to avoid at all costs. The beauty is you could ask ten different people and get ten different answers.
Today, we’ll switch gears and talk about the players the Niners should welcome with open arms. Groupthink tends to scare people off from stepping outside of the box. For example, I wouldn’t take any of the SEC pass rushers in the first round, despite many of them being projected to be drafted in the top 20.
This is a safe space. State your case if you want the 49ers to take Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren. There are no wrong answers.
Which prospect should the 49ers draft/is a dream fit for the Niners?
If this is “operation get Colton McKivitz out of the starting lineup,” then Armand Membou from Missouri or Josh Simmons from Ohio State would need minicamp to outperform McKivitz. However, Kyle Shanahan has fielded successful offenses, and even elite ones, with McKivitz, so investing in an offensive tackle in the first round may not be the best use of a premium pick.
At cornerback, Will Johnson, Shavon Revel, Trey Amos, Darien Porter, and Bejmain Morrison would all be ideal fits. Each possesses versatility and upside to guard the opposition’s best receiver. They’re all big, fast, and come with upside. We know the 49ers are drafting a cornerback, and if it’s going to be in the top 50, those are five terrific options who Robert Saleh could develop into a No. 1 cornerback.
The defensive line group is deep, but that’s if you want to fill your roster out with depth. After further review, the high-end talent, including Mason Graham and Walter Nolen, might be closer to being a Robin than a Batman.
Because of that, I will go back to cornerback and pick Porter. He has “wow” type of athleticism. Saleh changed his defense in New York with Sauce Gardner. Porter, who should be available in the second round when the 49ers are on the clock at No. 43, could turn into Saleh’s Gardner a couple of years down the line.
Porter is rough around the edges, but his floor is good enough to start in Saleh’s scheme. At Iowa State, they used Porter to set the edge against the run in multiple games as the end man of the line of scrimmage. Porter weighs 195 pounds! That tells me he’s a tough kid.
He’s in the 83rd percentile or better for the majority of his athletic testing. Porter was in the 98th percentile for the 40-yard dash and 93rd percentile in the 10-yard split. That shows up when you watch him, as wide receivers do not run by Porter. He needs little time to catch up if they do get a step.
By Year 3, we could be talking about a player deserving of a max extension. Porter has that kind of ceiling. A more realistic comparison from a production standpoint of who Porter could become is Martin Emerson of the Cleveland Browns. I’d sign up for that in the second round.