17. San Francisco 49ers - Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
The San Francisco 49ers are enduring one of their injury-riddled seasons. If you look at the head coaching career of Kyle Shanahan, the “down” years that he’s had have almost always been due to injury. However, some of their star players are also getting hurt and beginning to get up there in age. Brandon Aiyuk is out for the year. Deebo Samuel is getting up there in age and has been hurt, and we haven’t yet seen RB Christian McCaffrey.
George Kittle is always banged up and is also getting older, so the 49ers may have to offensive rebuilding to do around Brock Purdy, who is also due for a contract extension this coming offseason. In the first round of this mock draft, I went with Benjamin Morrison, as I do trust Kyle Shanahan more to make it work on offense. The 49ers defense hasn’t been super special this season, so getting some defensive help could be a huge need for them.
It’ll be interesting to see how the 49ers navigate this coming offseason. I would not be shocked to see some major changes come for the franchise.
18. Chicago Bears - Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
The Chicago Bears lost in Week 8 in the most heartbreaking fashion possible. Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders completed a Hail Mary as time ticked off the clock. The Bears seemed to be out of place on the Hail Mary, and that loss dropped them to 4-3 on the season and knocked them down to last place in the NFC North.
Overall, I believe the Bears will end up being just fine, but that was a huge indictment on the coaching staff if we’re being honest. The Bears, going forward, need to continue to build around Caleb Williams. Getting another starter along the offensive line could be an area of need, but I believe the Bears also need another pass rusher.
I went with Abdul Carter from Penn State. Pairing him up with Montez Sweat and the rest of the Bears defense could take this unit to another level. They’re already very good, but do have a need for more pass rush juice.