2011 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft - Round 3 - The San Francisco 49ers Select...

For the seventy-sixth pick in the second-annual Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, we selected for the San Francisco 49ers, who have the standard three picks available. Here is the pick...

With the seventy-sixth pick in the 2011 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select...

Sione Fua, NT, Stanford

With the 49ers having already grabbed the top CB in the draft and at least a decent potential new QB, it seems like their greatest remaining need is help on the defensive line. They have a good NT already in Aubrayo Franklin but he's currently a free agent, and even if they are able to retain him he's already in his 30s and isn't likely to play another 10 years. Drafting a potential replacement, whether for this year or a few years down the road, seems a smart move. The current backup at this position (Ricky Jean-Francois) was a "workout warrior" type, a boom-or-bust player they took a flier on in the 7th round, and so far it looks like he's more likely to be a decent 3-4DE backup than a 3-4NT backup. Worse yet, three of the top four DE players are in their 30s as well. Some changes are going to have to happen before too terribly long here, and starting to plan for the future seems a very good idea.

With all this in mind, we started looking at the list of players available, and Sione Fua surged to the top fairly quickly. There are a few other options available that some people have rated higher, such as Jarvis Jenkins and Terrell McLain, but both players seem much better suited to be either a 4-3 DT or a 3-4 DE than a 3-4 NT. Sione Fua, on the other hand, has played both 1 and 0 techniques in a 4-3 and a 3-4 respectively and actually did better in the 3-4, which is impressive enough. Add in that he has the build of a true 3-4 NT and simply needs experience and seasoning before he likely becomes a very good player. He's also already proven quite adept at holding up against double-teams and has shown excellent leverage and technique. Getting him at this point in the 3rd seems both a safe and smart pick. By drafting him here, if he has to play this year they still have RJF around as a backup, and if they get back Franklin then RJF can slide over to a DE backup slot and perhaps develop into something useful over there (and if not, he was only a 7th rounder and they can draft somebody else there next year or so).

Draft Overview: