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Mock Draft Sunday: 4-round San Francisco 49ers projections

Despite chatter centering mostly around the 49ers’ No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, they’ll go into the three-day event with nine picks and a number of holes to fill throughout the roster. Most mock drafts stick to one round and contain some iteration of Trey Lance, Mac Jones or Justin Fields going to the 49ers. That’s their biggest story line in this draft, but a few other key needs will need to be met in this year’s draft.

We ran through the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator and did a three-round mock to try and fill some of those needs for the 49ers.

Here’s our mock with trades:

Round 1, Pick 3 | QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State

(AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Lance's high football IQ and physical traits alone make him an intriguing prospect for any team. His experience in an offense that required him to do a lot of the things 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan would want him to do makes it easy to see why a team would trade three first-round picks to move up and get him.

Trade No. 1

(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

New England receives: No. 43 San Francisco receives: Nos. 46 (Round 2) and 120 (Round 4) Depending on what the Patriots wanted, the 49ers might be able to squeeze another late pick out of them in this scenario.

Round 2, Pick 46 | DB Jamar Johnson, Indiana

Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Content Services, LLC

While Johnson doesn't necessarily fill an immediate need, he's a versatile defensive back prospect who provides good depth at safety. He could be a factor this year at a position where injuries have been an issue for San Francisco, but he can also be a long-term answer in the back end because of his ability to play deep and in the slot. Johnson had seven interceptions in three college seasons, including two against Justin Fields and Ohio State.

Trade No. 2

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Dallas receives: Pick Nos. 102 (Round 3) and 172 (Round 5) San Francisco receives: Pick No. 75 (Round 3) If the 49ers need an edge or cornerback at this point, it might behoove them to wait until later to move up. However, this is very good value to jump up 27 spots.

Round 3, Pick 75 | CB Thomas Graham Jr., Oregon

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It's tough to project good cornerback fits for the 49ers since we don't know exactly what their defensive scheme is going to look like under new defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. However, assuming they stay zone-heavy, Graham should be able to thrive while bringing a toughness that's helped define the 49ers' defense over the last couple seasons. His athleticism doesn't jump of the screen when watching him, but he's around the football a lot. He was a three-year starter at Oregon before sitting out his final year. Graham posted eight interceptions in his first three college seasons and had 10.5 tackles for loss to go with 143 tackles.

Round 4, Pick 117 | CB Kelvin Joseph, Kentucky

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Joseph played for LSU in 2018, transferred to Kentucky and missed the 2019 season, then played terrific football for the Wildcats in his second year. He had four interceptions in nine games and brings NFL size at 6-1, 190 pounds. His inexperience could be worrisome, but the 49ers wouldn't need him to start right away. Giving a player with Joseph's size and athleticism a year to develop could pay big dividends for San Francisco down the road.

Round 4, Pick 120 | WR Cade Johnson, South Dakota State

(AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

While he's from a small school and relatively unknown, Johnson could make a name for himself with the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan. At 5-11, 184 pounds he projects as a slot receiver and could be the answer to the problem presented by Kendrick Bourne's departure. Johnson played in 40 games for the Jackrabbits and posted 162 receptions for 2,872 yards and 28 touchdowns. He became more active in the SDSU run game during his final year as well with 149 rushing yards on eight attempts. This is a good spot for the 49ers to snag a receiver after picking a pair of cornerbacks, and Johnson has the skill set to thrive with San Francisco.

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