Kurtenbach shares mock draft plan for the 49ers

If flexibility is strength, then the 49ers are stronger today than they were Monday, when they agreed to trade DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis for the Colts’ first-round draft pick.

Yes, Buckner is an outstanding player, but the Niners, who went into free agency in a cap crunch and with only one pick in the first four rounds, can now make some moves. There’s no replacing him, but they can add impact players at other positions, perhaps mitigating the loss.

This mock draft is being conducted as if there will not be any trades. It’s a best-case scenario mock.

Team needs: Defensive back depth, defensive tackle depth or immediate impact 3-technique, immediate impact wide receiver, swing tackle, future center, all-around tight end, kick and punt returner, backup quarterback

ROUND 1 — PICK NO. 13: JERRY JEUDY, WR ALABAMA >> In the past two drafts, the 49ers have selected before the Raiders in the first round and selected the player that Jon Gruden’s team wanted.

Not this year. The Raiders have pick No. 12 and are looking at wide receivers in this, one of the best wide receiver drafts in recent memory.

In researching the cream of the crop in this draft class, it’s evident to me — and everyone I’ve talked to over the past few days — that the Niners want Jeudy at No. 13. They want him bad.

It makes sense. Watching him at Alabama, you see a mix of Odell Beckham Jr. and Deebo Samuel. He’s preposterously polished. He has no business being as polished as he is. He’s not the biggest player in either height or thickness, but he plays big, seeking contact and thriving in crowded situations. He was a willing and solid blocker at Alabama — a must for both Nick Saban and Shanahan — and played both inside and outside, another must for the Niners’ offense.

If Jeudy is still on the board at No. 13, Shanahan is going to take him. This is the No. 1 wide receiver that can take the 49ers’ offense to the next level. I truly believe Jeudy is a perennial Pro Bowler, especially in Shanahan’s offense.

But that brings us to the Raiders. Word on the street — sorry, the home offices — is that the Raiders might pass on Jeudy for his teammate Henry Ruggs III, who ran a 4.27 40-yard dash at the NFL Draft Combine with a first-10 split of 1.43.

Al Davis would be proud of such a selection.

To be clear: Ruggs is an outstanding prospect, no one would be allowed to fault the Raiders for selecting him.

That said, Ruggs is a better fit for the Raiders’ offense than the Niners’. I’m also not a big fan of Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and can’t seem to find anyone who really likes his fit in San Francisco’s offense. (“Kyle Shanahan likes yards after the catch”, as if that makes him unique, is not really a breakdown.

Jeudy is the Niners’ guy. So, if Mike Mayock (who is proving that he should have been in a front office years ago) and Gruden select Jeudy — doing to the Niners what the Niners did to them the last two years — the possibility of the Niners trading down for a nice bounty of picks increases.

ROUND 1 — PICK 31: JORDAN ELLIOTT, DT MISSOURI >> A few weeks ago, I wrote about five prospects I thought the 49ers would land in on Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft, should they trade down from No. 31 (at the time their only first-round pick) and keep their other Day 3 selections.

Elliott was a second-round prospect at that juncture — early third, if the Niners were lucky. That’s not the case anymore. Elliott is a riser. It makes sense to me.

As I wrote then, and maintain now:

“Elliott [fits] what the Niners should be looking for in a … defensive lineman — he’s a one-gap guy who can move inside and out and can burst up the field from the middle. He doesn’t handle doubleteams well, but he can command them and that’s what matters in a four-lineman scheme.

There’s a lot of CJ Jones in the big fella, though he’s taller and longer, hence the need to use an earlier draft pick.

He also struck me as a big-down player — a guy who could find an extra gear when it was needed, particularly near the goal line. It’s hard not to like guys like that.”

Arik Armstead will, effectively, be Buckner’s replacement in the middle on third downs and in a nickel package. But the Niners need dudes on the interior and a viable, everydown three-technique. That’s Elliott.

That said, don’t be surprised if the Niners move off this pick to let someone move up and select a firstround quarterback.

ROUND 5 — PICK 156: HARRISON BRYANT, TE FLORIDA ATLANTIC >> The 2019 Mackey Award winner, Bryant received a comp to the 49ers’ best player, George Kittle, from NFL.com.

I see it — a bit. But Kittle is a better blocker and Bryant played in a spread system at FAU. That said, both have an uncanny knack for finding space and running through opponents’ faces. Then again, Bryant isn’t the athlete that Kittle is.

The higher-end comp for Bryant might be the Chargers’ Hunter Henry. Lower-end comps include Jake Butt and Brent Celek. What’s important is that he looks like a higher-end tight end No. 2 for the Niners, who had to change their offense with Kittle out last year and who would like to be able to do more running out of two-tight end sets.

I’d also expect the Niners to bring in a few blocking tight ends as undrafted free agents, though I suppose they could also use a lateround draft pick on one, too. Either way, this is a surprising position of need for the Niners that I expect them to rectify.

ROUND 5 — PICK 176: KENNY ROBINSON, DB XFL >> Yes, a selection from the XFL. Robinson was a strong player at West Virginia but after being deemed academically ineligible, he turned to the XFL to make money while his mother underwent cancer treatment.

He was a litmus test for the league. I think he might create a bit of a trend in the future.

He was a fringe draft prospect before he started with the St. Louis Battlehawks but now he’s a hot name on the scene — though no one seems sure where he’ll actually go.

I’m cutting the difference after hearing as early as the third round and, of course, more not knowing if he’ll be selected at all.

What I like about Robinson: He’s versatile and he’s a ball hawk. The 49ers are still a base Cover-3 team, and it’s not hard to see Robinson — perhaps with some seasoning — turning into an outstanding free safety in the system. But with the increase in man-to-man the 49ers ran last year expected to continue in 2020, the kind of physicality Robinson has shown is necessary, too.

He seems like a really good secondary fit for a team that needs some depth on that side. I also think that he’d be capable of playing as a cornerback. Probably not a starter, but a viable backup

Day 3 picks are all about high floors or high ceilings — you won’t get both. Robinson is the kind of high ceiling guy the 49ers should be seeking in the secondary. ROUND 6 — PICK 210: COLTON MCKIVITZ, OL WEST VIRGINIA >> The Niners have, in this hypothetical, neglected the offensive line. That stops with McKivitz, a nasty, multiposition player who was a four-year starter at West Virginia (three at right tackle, senior year at left).

I see McKivitz as a high-floor player and as a replacement of sorts for Dan Brunskill, who — at the moment — looks to be the Niners’ starting right guard following the release of Mike Person. At 6-foot-6, but with shorter arms than one would prefer for a tackle, McKivitz projects as a swing tackle — perhaps a starter on the right side — or as a guard. Perhaps a center down the line.

He is, unquestionably, a run blocker. As much as the Niners would like to improve their interior pass protection this year, at this point in the draft, they should be finding strong system fits. I think McKivitz is one of them.

ROUND 7 — PICK 217: HARRISON HAND, CB TEMPLE >> Hand is a highceiling guy who played in some press at the college level, which is not seen all that often (it’s mostly zone and off-man — which makes it really difficult to evaluate both cornerbacks and receivers). I like his tenacity and physicality in press. That’s it. That’s the analysis. ROUND 7 — PICK 245: CALVIN

THORCKMORTON, OL OREGON >> From my March 2 column: “Throckmorton played all across the offensive line at Oregon, which, under former University of Miami offensive lineman Mario Cristobal, is creating a pipeline to the NFL at the position. (2021 draft-eligible tackle Penei Sewell is arguably the best tackle prospect the draft has seen in a half a decade.)

Throckmorton was mostly a right tackle at Oregon, but his strong lower body means he projects best as an inside lineman in the NFL — perhaps a center.

That’s exactly what the 49ers should be looking for on Day 3 of the draft — projectable offensive linemen that can provide backup snaps across the line, but particularly in the interior. The Niners probably won’t have an opportunity to upgrade at guard in free agency, and Weston Richburg’s contact could prove onerous in the near future — contingency plans are necessary.

I love Throckmorton’s polish — he’s smooth and disciplined. That matters – it shows that his technique is strong, which makes up for his physical limitations and can flatten a bit of the learning curve in jumping from the Pac-12 to the NFL.

Throckmorton has small arms and doesn’t move all that well, but he’s unquestionably sharp — that’s something the 49ers value in offensive linemen more than most because of their complicated blocking schemes. I think this is a nice match.”