Here's an Alternative Draft Plan for the 49ers That GM John Lynch Needs to Consider

Conventional wisdom suggests that the San Francisco 49ers are going to take a wide receiver with the first-round pick they acquired from the Indianapolis Colts. Most mock drafts have the team selecting a talent like Jerry Jeudy or CeeDee Lamb, but waiting to draft a wideout could pay off.

The 49ers had to trade DeForest Buckner to acquire that extra first-round pick, and they could take his replacement at No. 13 instead.

Draft Javon Kinlaw! My dream scenario for #49ers. DJ nailed it. I would take Kinlaw OVER all the WRs, OT options at 13. Kinlaw could actually be an upgrade from DeForest Buckner. He’s that good. I spent 45 min watching his videos last night, and he’s exactly what you want in a DT https://t.co/CRHjWSdhzm
— Larry Krueger (@sportslarryknbr) April 6, 2020

Last season, San Francisco's dominance was built off a fearsome pass-rushing unit. The 49ers had the third-highest sack percentage in the NFL, but without Buckner disrupting opponents on the interior, they could struggle to have a repeat performance.

Javon Kinlaw projects to be one of the best interior pass-rushers in the class, having racked up a combined 10 sacks over the past two seasons at South Carolina. He could come in and fill the void left by Buckner thanks to his rare athletic ability.

If they do take Kinlaw at No. 13, the team would still need to find a wide receiver to play alongside Deebo Samuel, though. Thankfully, this is widely regarded as one of the best wide receiver classes in quite some time.

Rather than draft a WR at No. 13, San Francisco could sit back and draft a talent like Denzel Mims at No. 31. Mims has been really productive over his past three seasons at Baylor, racking up a combined 2,901 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns.

If Emmanuel Sanders leaves in free agency, Baylor receiver Denzel Mims is one of many options the 49ers will have to replace the veteran (via @MaioccoNBCS)https://t.co/cSy7LWL6np pic.twitter.com/c0u72HfbgU
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) March 6, 2020

He more than backed those numbers up at the 2020 NFL Combine. Mims used his 6-foot-3, 207-pound frame to post a 4.38 40-yard dash, a 38.5-inch vertical jump and a 131-inch broad jump. His 6.66 time in the 3-cone drill was also tops among wide receivers – beating the second-best time (6.94) by 0.28 seconds.

Even if he's not quite as well regarded as some of the top receivers in this class, Mims has a tantalizing blend of raw athleticism and high-end production. If the 49ers wait to draft him at the backend of the first round, they could also pick up an elite interior pass-rusher in Kinlaw.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.