Gil Pound: Pound for Pre-draft takes

Apr. 25—The NFL Draft takes center stage in the sports world this week.

My team, the NFC runner-up San Francisco 49ers, does not pick until late in the third round due to having traded away a ton of picks in recent years. There was the deal to move up and get Trey Lance a couple years ago, a decision I did not endorse as a member of the franchise's East Coast consortium of fans. Then there was the trade for Christian McCaffrey in the middle of last season, which was a move I was happy to make as the team was in a "win now" frame of mind.

So since we're likely riding the bench until late Friday, my interest this year lies more with where the college-turned-pro players are going to go.

Here are some thoughts as we head into the offseason spectacle.

You can't go wrong with Jalen Carter. The University of Georgia won't produce nearly the amount of draft talent it did with last year's record-setting performance, but the argument could be made that Carter is better than any other player to come out of Athens in 2022. Draft order and team needs have a lot to do with where a prospect is going to land, so don't expect to see the game-wrecker go first overall to the QB-needy Carolina Panthers. What a feather in Kirby Smart's visor that would be though, having back-to-back No. 1 overall picks come out of his program. Still, the Panthers need a signal caller, so good luck to either Bryce Young or CJ Stroud. Carter meanwhile shouldn't fall further than fifth to the Seattle Seahawks despite what I believe to be multiple smokescreens put out by teams designed to make him drop.

When it comes to the QBs available in this year's draft, there's only room for one undersized prospect to make waves. His name is Bryce Young. Get used to the phrase "undrafted free agent Stetson Bennett," because that's what you'll be reading/hearing after the draft is over through the time he is inevitably cut from what ever team signs him. Former Georgia OC Todd Monken, now with the Baltimore Ravens, could come knocking for his former QB, but don't expect that to happen until after the draft goes final.

On to another quarterback, I'm begging someone in the NFC West to please waste an early pick on Florida's Anthony Richardson. He's created a lot of buzz for himself with his measurables and cannon of an arm, but 13 up-and-down starts just aren't enough to paint a picture of what he will be at the next level. ESPN draft expert Matt Miller has the Las Vegas Raiders taking Richardson at No. 7 overall. That high-risk, meh-reward thinking definitely fits the LV organization, so I could see that happening.

Finally we come to our friends the Atlanta Falcons, who never cease to amaze. In a bad way, that is. Miller has them taking UGA outside linebacker Nolan Smith with the eighth pick, giving the Dawgs two players in the top eight. Despite the outcry from the joint Bulldogs/Falcons fanbase, Atlanta seems to never use high draft picks on products from the college program right up the road. The Dirty Birds need help on defense, which is why the Smith pick would make sense, but don't expect them to do what makes sense. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Falcons gonna Falcon.