NFL draft: 49ers add help in trenches, secondary in 3-round mock

Shoutout to our friends at the Draft Wire, who put together a mock draft that even the 49ers could participate in.

One-round mocks were out of the question for 2022 and 2023 when the 49ers traded those picks to move up for Trey Lance in March of 2021. Then the 49ers eliminated themselves from two-round mocks when they swung a deal for Christian McCaffrey in late October.

Luckily, Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling dove deep on his latest mock, which reaches all the way to the end of the third round, where the 49ers hold three compensatory selections.

San Francisco will have a handful of needs to address with their 10 selections, and they hit on three of them with those three third-round choices:

Round 3, Pick 99 | OL Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame

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Patterson was a three-year starter at center for the Fighting Irish before moving to left guard for his final season. He didn’t allow a sack during his three-year run as the starting center per Notre Dame’s athletics site. While he won’t help them at tackle where RT Mike McGlinchey could be exiting in free agency, he would give them a potential starter at center with flexibility to fill in elsewhere on the interior.

Round 3, Pick 101 | S Ronnie Hickman, Ohio State

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If the 49ers have to replace free agent defensive back Jimmie Ward, Hickman might be a player they look to. The Ohio State product started all 26 games over his final two seasons and posted 157 tackles, two tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions. Hickman is a good athlete who also played lacrosse in high school. Putting him alongside Talanoa Hufanga would give the 49ers a pair of safeties with a nose for the football. San Francisco would just have to ensure they’re confident that Hickman is sound in coverage, especially on throws down the field – an area they struggled with in 2022.

Round 3, Pick 102 | DL Byron Young, Alabama

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The 49ers need some help along the interior of their defensive line, and adding players from Alabama is typically a good idea. Young isn’t going to provide a ton as a pass rusher. He posted just 7.5 sacks in four years with the Crimson Tide, but he’s a good run defender who posted 20.0 tackles for loss. The 49ers have 2022 draft pick Kalia Davis to work into the mix, but more depth up front will be a must this offseason for San Francisco. Young would check that box and could conceivably help as a rotational DL right away.

Story originally appeared on Niners Wire