49ers and Jets: Two teams looking to April’s draft

Another game, another 49ers loss, and a continual array of questions surrounding what the future of the organization will look like. Rumors of a potential escape back to the college coaching world seemed to continually bubble to the surface every week for head coach Chip Kelly. The recent vacancy at his former university of employment only added fuel to the topic but now that a new coach has been named at Oregon it will hopefully quiet the storm.

The future is really the only thing worth discussing in regards to this franchise and even then, it is still overflowing with theoretical musings of what the organization can do to stop this tornado of failure.

Two weeks ago the 49ers almost shot themselves in the foot with a late rally that fell just short of a last second win, I say that because at this point the only thing the team can do to help build a new future is to let the losses continue to pile up. With the most recent one in Chicago, there is now an 80% probability that the team will end up with at least the number two pick in the draft. If the winless Browns can find a way to shock the world and pull an upset win prior to the end of the season it will vault San Francisco into the drivers seat for the top pick.

This is where we are now as fans.

In December is when 49ers fans should be talking about how to close out the division or peering ahead to see what the playoff picture (and an eventual meeting with Seattle) would look like. Instead, we are sitting around looking up mock drafts and waiting to see which college players are going to declare early for the pros.

Now that the usual unloading of frustration and lamenting has taken place, lets look into to the next game and then highlight a few potential draft selections at their current draft slot.

Heading into a matchup against the New York Jets, the 49ers find themselves in unfamiliar territory; they are currently favored to win for just the third time all season.

Second year quarterback Bryce Petty is in line for the second start of his career on Sunday as the Jets have handed the reigns over to their backup for the remainder of the season. In what has been a frustrating year for the Jets as well, they are also staring at a potential top five selection in April. Picking a winner between two teams that are this bad might be as simple as seeing which one of them will avoid giving the game way.

AROUND COVER32

QB Rankings: The QB position is as strong as it’s ever been

Power Rankings:: The Cowboys remain king

Who Wins? Jets and the Niners have a draft to play for

Niners Lose In Chicago: Only “upside” is draft position

Kelly & Kap: Niners could/should keep both?

Niners Prediction: Inside the numbers for Jets / Niners

Depending on which direction Cleveland goes with the number one selection, there will be plenty of potential opportunities for the 49ers to either trade back or select an impact player at a position of need.

My first spotlight player was pass rusher Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M whom is widely regarded as the best prospect in the draft. It would make a lot of sense for Cleveland to go with the “best player” available approach which could easily mean Garrett would be the first name called at the draft. If that ends up happening, I could see the 49ers going for their potential quarterback of the future but the question will be which signal caller catches their eye?

Deshaun Watson from Clemson, Deshone Kizer from Notre Dame, and Mitch Trubisky from North Carolina are currently being grouped as the three top rated quarterbacks in the draft. Kizer hasn’t declared as yet and many draft analysts feel like he would benefit from returning to college for one more season before heading to the next level.

Watson has been one of the key components of Clemson’s rise to power over the last two seasons and even with less talent around him this season has still posted impressive numbers that have him in the heisman conversation. Trubisky is a first year starter but has scout’s attention with his pro frame and impressive accuracy. With bowl games still to be played and three months of over analysis still to be had who knows how this group will end up when names are being announced in Philadelphia at the end of April.

If the selection were up to me (and if Cleveland took Myles Garrett off the board) I would choose Kizer over the other two. He is far from a finished product and I can understand that Watson has played just as well if not better for longer, but his frame is concerning in regards to surviving a potentially brutal rookie season.

Also in terms of arm talent Kizer is more capable of the NFL caliber throws than Watson, in my opinion. Both players seem like an idea fit for Chip Kelly’s offense and should the team decide to move on from Kelly after 2017, I think Kizer would be more adept than Watson at fitting into other styles of offense.

Just when I thought I could put together an article that didn’t dive into the string of horrendous decisions made by Trent Baalke, he had to do something like this and leave me absolutely no choice. Tight end Vance McDonald was just inked to a five year extension that will now give him over 16 million in guaranteed money.

The deal is within range of the free agent contract that the Saints gave to Colby Fleener who has been underwhelming in his first season with the team. San Francisco has the second largest cap room heading into the offseason and the roster doesn’t seem to have many noteworthy players to invest in, even with McDonald having a career best season his numbers are still less than impressive.

Here is to hoping that this is the last perplexing decision made by Trent Baalke as he attempts to prove not all of his draft choices have been complete misses.

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