NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock told reporters during a press conference Monday \that he doesn’t see a QB worthy of being selected by the 49ers with the second overall pick.
Mayock said that he doesn’t feel any of the quarterback prospects in this draft rank “anywhere near the top 10.”
He does have Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer at the top spot in his positional rankings, telling MMQB.com “I think he has the most upside, the highest ceiling. He has that kind of a franchise quarterback-type look.” The rest of Mayock’s top 5 quarterbacks in order are: Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, Pat Mahomes, and Davis Webb.
Mike Mayock says 5 prospects are worthy of the #49ers No. 2 pick: Myles Garrett, Malik Hooker, Jamal Adams, Reuben Foster & Jonathan Allen.
— Joe Fann (@Joe_Fann) February 27, 2017
It’s worth noting that all five of those players listed by Mayock are on the defensive side of the ball, where the 49ers ranked dead last in the NFL in total defense. Opposing teams put up an average of 406.4 yards per game and 30 points per game. This team could plug and play Garrett, Hooker, Adams, Foster or Allen immediately.
There has also been much discussion about who will be the quarterback at the helm of Kyle Shanahan’s first offense as a head coach. With Colin Kaepernick appearing less and less likely to re-sign each day, the 49ers must bring in a viable option to take over the starting job. Many reports have indicated the possibility of a trade for someone like Kirk Cousins (who played under Shanahan in Washington) or New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo, while others have suggested free-agent placeholders like Matt Schaub (another former Shanahan QB) to fill the void for a season or two.
Check back with KNBR all this week as we have live coverage from Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine with our reporter Kevin Jones.