Way-too-early San Francisco 49ers NFL Draft preview
The 2023 NFL Draft is April 27-29 in Kansas City. Here is the projected first-round order, per Tankathon. (Picks 1-18 are locked in.)
2022 record: 13-4 | First-round pick: None | Team needs: CB, WR, K
Snapshot: The 49ers are in win-now mode, with OddsChecker tabbing them as the NFC favorite for the Super Bowl. After sending a 2023 second-rounder (and four other picks) to Carolina for RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco isn't scheduled to have its first selection until the third round (100th pick).
What the 49ers do at QB is the storyline of the offseason. QB Jimmy Garoppolo is a pending free agent. Will Trey Lance duel Brock Purdy for the starting spot?
Potential third-round picks: Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami; Andrei Iosivas, WR, Princeton, Harrison Mevis, K, Missouri
San Francisco boasts the top defense in the NFL, but it could use upgrades at cornerback. Projections for Stevenson vary widely, from a Day 2 pick to a fifth-rounder. He had 68 tackles, three interceptions, and 11 passes defensed the past two seasons.
Iosivas, who only had two offers coming out of high school, is a late bloomer. He's a big-bodied receiver (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) who had 943 yards receiving and seven touchdown catches in 2022.
Mevis has the potential to be the top kicker in the draft. He's 10-for-13 on 50+ yard field goals, and no one in the class can match his 56-yard boots -- a feat he accomplished in back-to-back seasons, per ProFootballNetwork.com.
With 40-year-old Robbie Gould's career nearing an end, Mevis could be San Francisco's guy for the next decade-plus. He likely will go on the third day of the draft.
Per the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune, in October, Mevis filed for trademarks on "THICCER KICKER" and "MONEY MEVIS," his nicknames.
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