NFL Draft best available players for San Francisco 49ers: Marcus Mbow, Chase Lundt

Is it time for the San Francisco 49ers to start looking for offensive players?

After using their first four picks on defense for the first time in the Kyle Shanahan era, the offensive-minded head coach figures to start looking to add players to his unit.

One position that ought to be a priority: tackle. As it stands now, the team’s best options at swing tackle are a one-time guard, Spencer Burford, and a player who was picked up off the street late last season, Austen Pleasants.

A pair of tackles lead our list of available players on Day 3.

Round 4

T/G Marcus Mbow, Purdue: Mbow made starts at right guard and right tackle for the Boilermakers. He projects best as a guard in the NFL and would be a candidate to start at left guard — opposite 2023 third-round pick Dominick Puni — for the 49ers.

T/G Chase Lundt, UConn: Lundt is one of the better run blockers at tackle — including on wide-zone runs — in this year’s draft. His lack of length — 32 5/8-inch arms — have some questioning whether he’s best at guard.

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DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State: Farmer was a two-gapping lineman for the Seminoles but still managed four sacks and eight tackles for loss last season. That suggests the power and quickness Kocurek covets for his interior linemen.

DE Bradyn Swinson, LSU: A long-limbed edge rusher, Swinson does a good job of opening up rush lanes with his hands and then striding into the backfield. He finished last season with 8 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles.

WR Elic Ayomanor, Stanford: The 49ers got a good look at Ayomanor at his pro day and he also stopped by Santa Clara on a local visit. He’s got a nice combination of size and speed and shows the toughness Shanahan wants in a wide receiver.

Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor has the size-speed combination Kyle Shanahan likes. (Eakin Howard / Imagn Images)

DE Elijah Roberts, SMU: Roberts has long, powerful arms that he uses to collapse the pocket. He might not ever reach double-digit sacks in the NFL, but he’d be a dependable part of the D-line rotation and a stout run defender.

DE David Walker, Central Arkansas: Walker, who stands just under 6-1, lacks length but oozes production. He had 10 1/2 sacks and 23 tackles for loss last year and was voted the FCS defensive player of the year. He visited the 49ers in the run-up to the draft.

DT Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech: Peebles is small for the position but was reliably disruptive for the Hokies. His 17.8 percent pass-rush win rate was just below Norman-Lott’s.

DT CJ West, Indiana: West is a slippery and powerful interior defender who stood up well against top competition last. He won’t be a sack master in the NFL, but he compares well to former 49ers sixth-round pick D.J. Jones.

CB Quincy Riley, Louisville: An outside cornerback, Riley stands out for his speed and ability to locate the football. He had 19 pass breakups and five interceptions over the past two seasons.

RB Jordan James, Oregon: The 49ers spent a lot of time with James before the draft. He ran for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns last year and also was a natural pass catcher out of the backfield with 26 catches and 209 yards.

RB Dylan Sampson, Tennessee: Sampson hits creases as sharply as any runner in the draft and was particularly good at running between the tackles. That includes goal-line carries. He scored 22 rushing touchdowns last year for the Volunteers.

RB Bayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech: Tuten excelled in Virginia Tech’s zone-running offense last season, averaging 6.3 yards a carry and scoring 15 rushing touchdowns. He ran a 4.32-second 40 at the combine, one hundredth of a second faster than 49ers’ fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo did last year.

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C Jonah Monheim, USC: He played all over the line at USC before settling in at center last season. The 49ers have not drafted a center since Shanahan and Lynch took over in 2017.

LB Chris “Pooh” Paul. Jr., Ole Miss: Paul started getting Greenlaw comparisons early on at the University of Arkansas, which is where Greenlaw played. He’s small for the position but shows Greenlaw-like pugnacity and makes plays sideline to sideline.

Round 5

RB Jaydon Blue, Texas: Blue is another burner, running his 40 in 4.38 seconds. He doesn’t rate as highly as some other tailbacks on this board because of his size, 5-9 and 195 pounds.

RB Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech: Brooks is super steady, mature and played in a zone rushing scheme. The only thing not to like about him is his lack of high-end speed. He seems like a prospect a long-time running backs coach like Bobby Turner would like.

CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas: Bryant lacks size, but like Stout is a good and physical tackler. He had four interceptions in each of the last two seasons and quarterbacks had a weak 62.7 passer rating when targeting him in 2024.

CB Bilhal Kone, Western Michigan: Kone is the tallest (6-1) and fastest (4.43 40) of the cornerbacks the 49ers brought in for a visit. His ball skills, however, aren’t as impressive as the others. He had just two interceptions in three college seasons.

Round 6

WR Nick Nash, San Jose State: The 49ers put the 2024 triple crown winner — Nash led the nation in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns — through a workout at their local pro day. Nash is no burner, but the former quarterback knows how to get open and is still learning his new position.

San Jose State’s Nick Nash was college football’s triple crown winner at receiver last season. (Cary Edmondson / Imagn Images)

WR Ricky White, UNLV: White’s slow 40 time will scare off some teams. However, he was a big-play receiver at UNLV and would bring immediate special teams ability to an NFL team. He single-handedly blocked four punts last season, more than any team had in 2024.

S Craig Woodson, Cal: Woodson might be one of the most underrated players in the draft. He has good size, good speed, is reliable and had more than 150 tackles over the past two seasons.

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TE Jalin Conyers, Texas Tech: Conyers has more upside than any Day 3 tight end. He’s a very good athlete — 4.74-second 40, 35 1/2-inch vertical jump — who also weighs 260 pounds. That heft, plus an 81-inch wingspan, has the makings of a good blocker.

TE Jackson Hawes, Georgia Tech: He might be the opposite of Conyers in that teams know exactly what they’re getting — a tenacious blocker who isn’t a huge receiving threat. He had 16 catches and no touchdowns last year for Georgia Tech.

LB Kain Medrano, UCLA: Medrano was the fastest linebacker at the scouting combine, making him intriguing both as a 49ers defender and on special teams. Medrano played weakside linebacker for the Bruins, a position that’s up for grabs in San Francisco.

WR Jordan Watkins, Ole Miss: Watkins was a big-play threat for Ole Miss last season with 49 catches for 906 yards. He was the only receiver in the FBS with five plays of 60 yards or more.

WR Chimere Dike, Florida: Dike ran a 4.34-second 40 at the combine and excelled at the kind of crossing routes that are the foundation of Shanahan’s passing attack.

Round 7

LB Teddye Buchanan, Cal: A high school quarterback, Buchanan led the Bears with 114 tackles and 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Though he didn’t take part in the 49ers’ local pro day practice, he attended the event and spent time chatting with Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Patrick Willis on the sideline.

OT Esa Pole, Washington State: The 6-5, 323-pound Pole is relatively new to the sport of football. But he allowed no sacks at left tackle last season and seems like a project well worth taking on.

C Thomas Perry, Middlebury: No, Perry’s college opponents — including Bowdoin, Bates and Trinity — weren’t all that imposing. But Perry dominated as you would expect and he didn’t look out of place at the East-West Shrine game against bigger-school defenders. A guard at Middlebury, he projects as a center in the NFL.

TE Ben Yurosek, Georgia: Yurosek was a receiving tight end at Stanford before becoming more of a blocking tight end at Georgia. Which is to say, he’s got the type of well-rounded background the 49ers want at the position.

(Top photo of Marcus Mbow: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

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