It’s never too early to look ahead when you’re talking NFL draft.
Looking ahead to next year’s event, CBS Sports sees the 49ers addressing the secondary with their first-round selection. R.J. White predicts the 49ers will select Israel Mukuamu from South Carolina at No. 31 overall.
Mukuamu has the height at 6-foot-4 to keep up with any of the NFL’s tallest and most athletic wideouts, and was named to the All-SEC second team in 2019 as a sophomore.
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It would be the third consecutive year general manager John Lynch chose to select a South Carolina product in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, after taking wideout Deebo Samuel in 2019 and defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw in April.
The 49ers have three cornerbacks who could enter free agency next offseason, so the position should be a priority for Lynch after the 2020 campaign.
Mukuamu famously picked off former Georgia quarterback and Buffalo Bills fourth-round pick Jake Fromm three times this past season, including one that was aided by a Kinlaw pressure.
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