The 49ers have shelled out plenty of money already in free agency to retain the team’s expiring contracts, coming to agreements on new deals for Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk and Jason Verrett.
There remain several positions of need, with the most glaring one being the cornerback position. Verrett returns, but Richard Sherman is all but guaranteed to sign elsewhere and K’Waun Williams still is on the market.
NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein released his Mock Draft 2.0 on Friday, and has the 49ers trading back with the Minnesota Vikings to the 14th overall pick, and still addressing that most outstanding need with Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley.
Farley has been linked to the 49ers by several different draft experts throughout the past few months, and would be an instant impact player in the secondary.
A former high school quarterback star, Farley put together a very strong season in 2019, with four interceptions and 12 pass deflections over 10 games. He opted out of the 2020 season and has spent the past year preparing for the draft.
RELATED: Report: 49ers host former Packers guard Taylor on visit
He does have an injury history with an ACL tear early in his college career along with some back spasms in his last season at Virginia Tech, and his tackling will need to improve at the NFL level, but Farley has the tools to be an elite defensive back for new defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
He doesn’t have the same SEC pedigree as fellow first-round talents Patrick Surtain and Jaycee Horn, but still saw plenty of good competition in the ACC.
Especially if the 49ers can add some draft capital in a trade back and still land a corner who could play right away, this definitely would be a win for general manager John Lynch and the front office.
Download and subscribe to the 49ers Talk Podcast