With his new five-year extension, Jimmy Garoppolo has a few million reasons to be thankful for the San Francisco 49ers.
If they give him Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, he’ll have another big one.
That’s the scenario that plays out in the latest 2018 NFL mock draft from CBS Sports, which has Jimmy G and the 49ers stealing the best overall player in the entire draft with the ninth overall pick. While it’s hard to envision a prospect of Barkley’s caliber falling that far, we’ve seen stranger things in past drafts, especially when it comes to valuing running backs.
The 49ers aren’t the only team to score huge bargains in this mock draft. Other fantastic value picks include Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (No. 27 overall, New Orleans Saints) and Boston College edge defender Harold Landry (No. 31 overall, New England Patriots).
As is the case with most mock drafts, this one is littered with talented quarterback prospects: USC’s Sam Darnold (No. 1 overall, Cleveland Browns), UCLA’s Josh Rosen (No. 2 overall, New York Giants), Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (No. 6 overall, New York Jets) and Wyoming’s Josh Allen (No. 15 overall, Arizona Cardinals).
A few names that come off the board earlier than usual? UTEP guard Will Hernandez (No. 14 overall, Green Bay Packers), SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton (No. 18 overall, Seattle Seahawks), Georgia offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (No. 26 overall, Atlanta Falcons) and South Dakota State tight end Dallas Goedert (No. 29 overall, Jacksonville Jaguars).
To check out the complete first-round projection at CBS Sports, click here.