Grant’s post-Combine 49ers mock offseason

Now that the NFL Scouting Combine is over, let’s try to predict what the 49ers will do this offseason. Here’s my best guess. I’m eager to read yours.

FREE AGENCY

OUT: Dashon Goldson, Isaac Sopoaga, Ricky Jean Francois, Larry Grant, Leonard Davis, Tramaine Brock, Clark Haggans and Ted Ginn Jr. Goldson wants too much money, and the 49ers want a free safety with cornerback skills. Jean Francois signs with the Packers.

CUT: Carlos Rogers, David Akers.

POSITION CHANGE: Chris Culliver becomes the starting free safety.

RE-SIGNED: Delanie Walker, Tavares Gooden.

DRAFT

  1. The 49ers trade the 31st pick, the 34th pick and the 94th pick to the Chargers for the 11th pick and the 138th pick. With the 11th pick, the 49ers draft Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes. The 49ers get their version of the Seahawks’ top cornerback, Richard Sherman – a big, physical corner who can play press coverage. Rhodes can also fly – he ran an unofficial 4.41 40-yard dash at the Combine. To get Rhodes, the 49ers have to trade ahead of the Dolphins and Buccaneers. Both teams are rumored to covet the big cornerback.
  2. With the 61st pick, the 49ers draft the deep-threat wide out from Oregon State, Markus Wheaton. The best wide receiver at the Senior Bowl, Wheaton falls to the end of the second round because he’s only 5-11. But I think he’s going to be similar to Mike Wallace, only better, because Wheaton has a wider catching radius.
  3. With the 74th pick, the 49ers draft Ricky Jean Francois’ replacement, DT Bennie Logan. Like Jean Francois, Logan played at LSU. Also like Jean Francois, Logan is 6-3 and about 300 pounds. Logan will compete to be the 49ers’ starting nose tackle.
  4. With the compensatory pick at the end of the third round, the 49ers draft Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman’s backup, Penn State inside linebacker Gerald Hodges. The 49ers have reportedly met with Hodges, and they need someone to replace Larry Grant if he leaves in free agency.
  5. With their fourth round pick, the 49ers draft LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu to cover the slot in the future. Mathieu can also replace Culliver as a special teams gunner. With Rhodes and Mathieu, the 49ers can cut Carlos Rogers whenever they want.
  6. With their first fifth round pick, the one from the Chargers, the 49ers draft another cornerback, Terry Hawthorne from the University of Illinois. Tarell Brown will be a free agent after next season, and in case the 49ers cannot agree to an extension with him, they need a backup option. Hawthorne is a good backup option. He’s met with the 49ers, and he’s bigger and faster than Brown.
  7. With their second fifth round pick, the one from the Colts, the 49ers draft Stanford rush linebacker Chase Thomas.
  8. With their third fifth round pick, the 49ers draft the dual threat quarterback from the University of Arizona, Matt Scott. The 49ers need a third quarterback, so they might as well draft a player for Jim Harbaugh, the top QB mentor in the NFL, to mentor and develop. The 49ers probably could trade Scott for a second round pick after a year or two of him working with Harbaugh.

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