SANTA CLARA — Friday night’s third round wound down, the 49ers owned the third-to-last pick, and this draft’s most notorious quarterback was still available.
Shedeur Sanders, son of 1994 49ers’ Super Bowl champion Deion Sanders, would not be selected and/or rescued by the 49ers at pick No. 100.
Instead, Western Kentucky cornerback Upton Stout was the 49ers’ selection, and the Sanders’ downward slide resumed.
Stout, seen by the 49ers’ as a fiesty nickel back, was the fourth defensive player taken in as many picks by the the 49ers this draft, following defensive end Mykel Williams (first round, No. 11 overall), defensive tackle Alfred Collins (second round, No. 43) and linebacker Nick Martin (No. 75).
“I told John (Lynch) it was the first day I kind of exhaled since free agency,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “You lose a lot of guys two months ago, a month ago. You come to work, you look at your board, and there are a lot of empty spots. You’re in the draft, you don’t know how it’s going to pan out. We were really hoping we could fill out of a lot of those spots and we did today, which is the start of it.
“We added some competition and hopefully we add more tomorrow,” Shanahan added. “But it definitely was a good feeling to add some guys, because we lost more than we ever have before.”
Stout made a pre-draft visit to the 49ers and was enamoured with the coaches’ energy, stating: “I was excited. when i took my visit out there, I knew this was the spot for me, with all the players they had and all the dogs.”
The 49ers’ scout who studied Stout, Warren Ball, relayed that Stout had “the heart of a lion.”
“When I’m in nickel, it showcases who I am,” said Stout, adding that defending the run is “part of my game, I like to get dirty.”
Their plan is to insert Stout as the nickel back and allow Deommodore Lenoir to remain an outside cornerback, likely with Renardo Green at the other spot.
As for quarterback, Brock Purdy’s backups on the 49ers remain Mac Jones and Tanner Mordecai. Purdy, of course, is three years removed from being the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft.
FIve quarterbacks have been drafted through two days, including Jalen Milroe (Seattle Seahawks, No. 92) and Dillon Gabriel (Cleveland Browns, No. 94) in the third round.
The 49ers’ final selection Friday night came after the Raiders’ back-to-back picks of offensive linemen, Caelb Rogers and Charles Grant.
“This was a huge weekend for our organization. We love our core of guys, but there’s a lot of opportunity on this roster,” Lynch said. “There’s also a lot of necessity to infuse some youth and quality young players. This draft, we felt this was the case there’d be a lot of quality starters into Day 2 and 3. That’s how it played out. We still have a lot of work to do.”