2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft - The San Francisco 49ers Select...

With the 30th pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, Chris Brown selected for the San Francisco 49ers, who earned their pick by finishing the 2011 season with a 13-3 record, making it all the way to the NFC Championship game, where they lost to the Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

With the No. 30 overall pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select...

Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford

What a difference a year makes. Last offseason, the re-signing of Alex Smith was viewed by many Bay Area fans as a preemptive strike in the ‘Suck for Luck' campaign, and expectations were seriously low. Instead, Jim Harbaugh revived Smith's career and the Niners rode a young, punishing defense to the NFC Championship Game. With Smith back in the fold through 2014 and the team returning all 11 of its starters on the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers look to be one or two pieces away from being legitimate Super Bowl favorites.

Anyone watching this team down the stretch last year noticed a glaring weakness on offense: the lack of a playmaking receiver. Michael Crabtree has shown very little to justify being a top-10 pick, and after injuries to Josh Morgan and Ted Ginn in mid-season, the 49ers had no one they could rely on in the passing game other than Vernon Davis, who found himself double-covered on most 3rd downs. By signing Mario Manningham and Randy Moss in free agency, the team has taken steps to address the WR position in the short-term, but they will likely target one early in the draft as well.

Coby Fleener will give the Niners the additional receiving threat they desperately need, just from the TE position. As he showed in his recent pro day where he ran in the 4.5-range in the 40yd dash, Fleener possesses elite speed, size, and hands, and he has the versatility to play the slot on passing downs where he should be able to dominate smaller nickel-DBs. Alternatively, putting him on the line of scrimmage opposite Vernon Davis in a traditional 2-TE set will force safeties to play Davis more honestly, and open up the middle of the field for Alex Smith. Plus, Fleener's familiarity with Harbaugh's system will allow him to contribute from Day 1, whereas a high-risk/high-reward WR pick like Stephen Hill would likely sit behind Crabtree and Manningham while learning the offense. With the 49ers firmly in ‘win now' mode, they can't afford to draft someone to sit. Fleener gives SF a TE duo to rival New England's, and a legit opportunity to take the next step in the NFC.

Coby Fleener Highlights:

Joe Goodberry's Instant Analysis:

I've seen this pick mocked many times and I don't get it. Fleener would come in as the #3 TE behind Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker. I know the 49ers use a bunch of 2-TE sets and Fleener is from Stanford, but they have much bigger needs and there are more valuable players on the board. Fleener could get 20 snaps a game, is that worth a first round pick?
Grade: C
Value: - 6

Draft Overview: