San Francisco 49ers: How well would Jalen Collins fit in?

There’s been a lot of focus on the San Francisco 49ers spending their first pick of the NFL Draft on a wide receiver. While they’ll need an upgrade in that area, there’s just as much of an issue at cornerback.

Jalen Collins of LSU may fit perfectly.

Dec 28, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver (29) breaks up a pass to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd (15) during the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The against the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox are free agents heading into the offseason, and there might be a chance neither come back. Culliver’s market is huge with Pro Football Talk ranking him as the seventh-best cornerback in free agency.

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The 49ers may not be willing to keep Culliver. He’s had multiple off-the-field issues such as his conversation with radio host Artie Lange on being uncomfortable around gay teammates and fleeing the scene after a hit-and-run with a bicyclist and threatening a minor with brass knuckles who tried to keep him there.

Then there’s Tramaine Brock, who’s been injured often. He’s arguably the best cornerback on the team, but they at least need insurance if Culliver and Cox go a different way.

Among a group of great cornerbacks, Collins is a rising star in the upcoming draft. Despite being told that he should stay in college for another season, he decided to move on and mock drafts have responded by putting him in the first round.

One of them is from NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah. At the scouting combine, Jeremiah was impressed by Collins because of his athleticism over experience.

"“Collins doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he has a big upside because of his size/athleticism.”"

Despite having three interceptions in his 10 games he started at LSU, that was a negative coming out of the combine. Nick Underhill from The Advocate says that and getting yelled at by a coach could harm his stock.

"“Going through drills, he struggled to catch the ball, and it almost appeared as if he were batting them down. The television broadcast picked up a coach telling him that he wasn’t playing volleyball.”"

Feb 23, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; LSU Tigers defensive back Jalen Collins runs the 40 yard dash during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t all bad at the combine, however. Collins responded by recording a 40-yard dash time of 4.48 seconds. For a guy that checks in at 6’1″ and and 203 pounds, that’s pretty damn fast for a defensive back at his size.

Other cornerbacks in the same caliber as Collins are Trae Waynes of Michigan State, P.J. Williams of Florida State, and Marcus Peters of Washington. Out of that group, Waynes is the only one that’s not expected to be available because the New Orleans Saints with the No. 13 selection are expected to pick him because of their need at cornerback.

So what makes Collins the favorite out of the rest of the group? It’s certainly a gamble because of experience, but GM Trent Baalke loves his wingspan and Doug Williams of NBC Bay Area believes the connections with receivers coach Adam Henry and safety Eric Reid put the cornerback in a good position.

"“Two other factors could be new 49ers receivers coach Adam Henry, who comes to the team from LSU where he coached the wide receivers – and went up against Collins every day in practice – and Niners safety Eric Reid, a former LSU standout. Both could vouch for Collins.”"

There’s a lot of potential for Collins. It’s certainly a risk, but it could also be the best place for the young cornerback to succeed.

Next: No chance Dorial Green-Beckham ends up with 49ers

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