49ers prepare for NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is fast approaching and in just over 48 hours the 49ers will be adding what they hope are more core players to their roster with the 30th overall picks in each round.

With such a deep and talented roster already at hand and having shored up many of the team’s needs through free agency, what will the 49ers be looking to add to their roster this weekend?

A couple positions come to mind, for instance the right guard position has lost two players this offseason with veteran Adam Snyder departing for Arizona and Chilo Rachal heading to Chicago. This leaves the 49ers with a couple young options including Daniel Kilgore, whom the team drafted in the fifth round last year.

Right guard is the only position on paper with a starting position up for grabs making it likely the 49ers will want to add another player to this position with high upside in the first couple of rounds.

Tight end Coby Fleener played for 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh
at Stanford; now the two could reunite in San Francisco.

However, there are other ways to improve the team, take for example added speed in the defensive secondary? How about a tight end such as Coby Fleener from Stanford (who Jim Harbaugh coached in college)?

Fleener at 6’6,” 247 pounds follows perfectly a successful trend happening recently in the NFL with young, tall, and athletic tight ends being dominant forces on the field. 


Take New England Patriots tight ends Bruce Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, along with New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham as just a few examples in the past year of dominant offensive players at the position due to their size and athleticism. Fleener would fit this mold nicely for the 49ers.

If San Francisco picks Fleener it will give what some would call a log jam at tight end with Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker already on the team. However, the 49ers could use different formations to create playing time for all three. For instance, one could line up at wide receiver or Walker could play fullback in certain play sets. There are plenty of creative ways to keep all on the field and Harbaugh along with offensive coordinator Greg Roman are the masters of this.

Whether it is a right guard, Fleener, or others selected in the early rounds of the draft beginning Thursday night, the 49ers are sure to land themselves some good players to add to an already impressive roster full of talent. If the 49ers can find the perfect fits to their needs they will be taking another key step towards a run at a Super Bowl trophy come winter time.