I thought I’d try something new this week and try and simulate seven rounds of the 49ers draft. I’ll not bore you with each pick for each team, but I will show you my options at each pick and tell you who I went with. I have used PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator.

Some other ground rules for this are:

- No trade-ups – I don’t think the 49ers will do this, which is what’s widely seen as a weak draft anyway (except possibly to get into the 3rd round), but it’s actually quite hard to make sense of who’s still available on the PFF simulator before you pick, so we’ll mostly stand pat.

- We can trade down, however, if we think the value isn’t there. I’m most likely to do this in Round 1. Let’s get started.

My Hottest Take: Day 1 For The 49ers brings…

Alright, so you already know my thoughts, if you’ve been reading, about what the 49ers could do here. I think pretty much any position, bar quarterback and probably linebacker, is open to us, but the draft seems to have a glut of late-first talent at EDGE, OL, and WR, which are a bunch of places we need talent. So, what’s available to me at 27?

My personal draft crush, Dillon Thieneman, goes at #8 to the Saints, while Akheem Mesidor, Blake Miller, and Omar Cooper Jr, another three potential possibilities in my mind, also don’t make it to us, going in the handful of picks before. I’m presented a board containing the likes of CB Avieon Terrell, ED Cashius Howell, Ts Kadyn Proctor and Max Iheanachor, and DL Kayden McDonald, while just out of that range are Utah OT Caleb Lomu and Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion, two popular mock picks. My only offers for trades are from picks 61 (The LA Rams), 71 (The Washington Commanders), and 92 (The Dallas Cowboys), so I think we’re standing pat here. Where to go, though?

Kadyn Proctor has been mocked to the Niners, but I just don’t see it – he’s a poor scheme fit, way above our usual size recommendations, and he’s an extremely inconsistent player. The Alabama OL gives me the heebie-jeebies in the draft anyway, so we’ll rule him out. Avieon Terrell’s fall is a bit of a surprise, but I don’t think he’s athletic enough for the Niners. Iheanancho seems too raw for the 49ers, and McDonald doesn’t fit either, so it’s essentially down to Howell, Boston, Lomu, or Concepcion, I think.

With the 27th pick, the 49ers select: EDGE Cashius Howell

I just couldn’t pass him up – he’s too good a pass-rusher for that. We need some actual talented pass-rushers for defensive line coach Kris Kocurek to work with, and getting Howell is far too tempting to pass on. He’s got a solid track record of production, with room to grow, and in some ways mirrors a former 49ers first-rounder in Aldon Smith, in that he’ll likely have a role in pressure packages from the off while rounding out into a better all-around player (particularly in run defense). He needs some work, but as a productive lump of clay for this coaching staff, this is probably the ideal scenario.

You Should Know: Day 2 puts a smile on my face

Day 2 gets interesting fast, with pick 58 our first of the day. We’ve got trade options at #60 and #67 (Bears and Raiders, respectively). But, well, there's too much on the board. WR Bryce Lance and CB Treydan Stukes are both available to me, while Joshua Josephs is just out of number range here as well. In any other circumstances, I think the Tennessee EDGE might have appealed. But as soon as I saw one name on the board, my pick was in. (And no, it’s not Bryce ‘brother of Trey’ Lance).

With the 58th pick, the 49ers select S A.J Haulcy

I’ve been banging on about needing a ball-hawking safety since Week 3, and I absolutely love Haulcy’s skill set. Not only does he show great ball skills, but he’s likely good enough as a hitter and tackler to impress the Neanderthals that seem to run the 49ers' safety and defensive back scouting department as well. A good all-rounder with great experience, he slots right in for Raheem Morris in a spot that’s been troublesome since Jimmie Ward left the team. And hey, there’s no harm in drafting a guy who calls himself ‘Mr. Give Me That’ when you’ve struggled to generate turnovers, either.

Before You Go: Day 3 rounds things out

Finally, we come to Day 3, though for the 49ers it’ll essentially be a half-Day 3, with four picks in the fourth round making up our quota, all within 12 picks of each other. As such, I’ll spare you the boards on this one and merely tell you who I take:

With the 127th pick, the 49ers select G Beau Stephens

Something leads me to think the 49ers would be interested in an Iowa guard – possibly because they took Connor Colby from there last year – and that’s because of some things that help Iowa’s appeal to the notoriously hard-to-please Niners. Namely, they run a pro system, many of their linemen have experience in zone blocking, and, moreover, it’s a place where a couple of 49ers have emerged in recent years, most famously George Kittle. A natural fit in the 49ers' scheme with good technique, Stephens raises the floor at a position of very little depth on the 49ers roster. He does have shorter arms than some in Santa Clara would like, but I think he can hide them well enough with the rest of his skills.

With the 133rd pick, the 49ers select WR Ja’Kobi Lane

Projecting USC wideouts to the pros is very, very difficult, but I think the value of Lane here outstrips any concerns. With size and athleticism, he could be a really solid addition to Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Tough at the point of attack, long, and an ideal redzone target, he could really benefit from the veteran tutelage of new signing Mike Evans, especially in how to use his size to create separation. Oh, he’s not bad after the catch either, which would be a nice thing to add to the Niners’ current room.

With the 138th pick, the 49ers select EDGE Nadame Tucker

There’s not much buzz about this kid, and I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s the strength of competition or his relatively raw nature, but I see an athlete that could make noise as a pass-rusher from Day 1, and that’d be welcome in the 49ers frequently attritioned defensive line room. Moreover, if I can hand raw tools to a guy like Kris Kocurek, who has coaxed career-best years out of the likes of Cle Ferrell, Charles Omenihu, and Arden Key, you best believe I’m going to do it. Value spot here, I think.

With the 139th pick, the 49ers select CB Charles Demmings

I found myself picking between two corners here: Demmings and NC State corner Devon Marshall. I personally prefer Marshall as a prospect, but I see the Niners going with the bigger player and better athlete here. Demmings is a solid player with room to grow – his floor certainly seems higher than the likes of Darrell Luter Jr., who he’s likely to compete against, while his ceiling suggests he could be a very useful rotational corner. With the staff seemingly down on Renardo Green, getting players who can play meaningful snaps at corner should be a priority for the next year or so, particularly as only Deommodore Lenoir and nickel back Upton Stout would seem to have long-term futures.

And that’s it! PFF’s overall grade was an A-. So I’m ready whenever you are, John Lynch. In all seriousness, I doubt it happens this way – there are thousands of unpredictable variables that go into a draft – but it’s fun to speculate. In my picks, I believe I’ve filled roster spots for the team at weak positions (sans maybe defensive tackle, although there’s enough versatility in the likes of Mykel Williams to cover that, and the 49ers drafted two last year), while finding players with enough upside to potentially restock the shelves for a few more Super Bowl runs. And you can’t say fairer than that, can you?

What would you do? Reach out to me on Twitter @JPorterdoes or @jporterdoes.bsky.social and tell me why I’m wrong. Or right. In fact, I think I’d prefer the latter.

See you next week – we’re almost close to having something meaningful to talk about again!