Scooter's Day 3 Prospects to Know - Offense

By Scooter_McG

The NFL draft is now fast approaching, with the first round now less than 4 weeks away. While the 49ers do not have a furst round pick in the 2022 draft (courtesy of their trade up to draft Trey Lance last year), the team still has a total of 9 draft picks this year. Barring trades, six of those picks are currently scheduled to be on day 3, so it is well worth being across some of the potential sleeper value picks that may be available in the later rounds and be of interest to the 49ers. 

In this article I will focus on offensive prospects that I think may be of interest to the 49ers on day 3. 

Zach Tom, OT/C, Wake Forest. Anyone paying attention to razor's breakdown of draft prospects by position will already be familar with this name, as Tom was one of the prospects he outlined for the interior OL. Tom has experience both at center and tackle, and has flown somewhat under the radar this draft cycle. But he has excellent footwork, technique, hand placement and patience as a blocker, to go along with elite athleticism (boasting a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.68 out of 10 compared to OTs, 9.97 compared to OGs, and a perfect 10 compared to centers). So why has he flown under the radar? His greatest sin is that he's boring - he doesn't blow guys off the ball or provide highlight reel pancakes, but he consistently nullifies opposing pass rushers and hits his targets in the running game. He will need to get stronger for the NFL, but the athleticism, technique and intelligence he displays should see him be a solid NFL pro. 

Jean Delance, OT, Florida. Delance is a sleeper late day 3 pick as a zone blocking OT with enticing athletic traits but in need of cleaning up some technical issues. Delance is on the light side at a shade under 300 lbs and is also a bit on the shorter side for an OT at just under 6'4", but he has a huge wingspan with 36.5" arms. With that wingspan opposing DL can have significant trouble getting into his body leading to some easy wins against the pass rush when his initial strike lands. He also has the athleticism to get to the second level in the running game. However, he can also be caught lunging leading to balance issues and some bad reps where the defender can easily counter and beat him, while his lack of size can lead to trouble anchoring or generating movement in the running game. Like Tom, Delance will need to get stronger for the NFL, but if his technique issues can be cleaned up he has potential to be a good OT. The 49ers are also known to have spoken with Delance at the East-West Shrine Game.  

Erik Ezukanma, WR, Texas Tech. With the success of Deebo Samuel there will no doubt be a number of teams looking for players with a similar skill set. With that in mind it is something of a surpise that Ezukanma hasn't received more interest from draft media. Ezukanma has an impressive physique at around 6'2" and 210 to 220 lbs, and is also a good athlete for his size. While not quite as quick or fast as Deebo, he has a RB background which shows up with a very impressive skillset after the catch and in traffic mixing elusiveness with power to break tackles and pick up extra yards. He also used those RB skills taking a number of sweeps for big gains. But he isn't just a short yardage or gadget player - Ezukanma also demonstrates nice burst, footwork and balance in his route running and the ability to go up and get the ball downfield. He definitely needs to clean up aspects of his route running and how to set up DBs, but he has the tools to be very good and at a minimum can be a dangerous threat on manufactured touches. 

While he will no doubt get a lot of comparisons to Deebo (like I have just done above), at least in terms of role, I can actually see the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan being interested in Ezukanma as a player that can be what they hoped Jalen Hurd would become - a big slot with the versatility to be moved around all over the formation to create mismatches.  

Jalen Nailor, WR, Michigan State. Nailor is flying under the radar for one main reason, and it is a big one - the injury bug. He has missed extensive time in three of the last four years due to injury, including this past season. However, when healthy, there is little doubt about Nailor's ability. At a shade under 6'0" and around 190 lbs Nailor isn't a physically imposing WR but he does have sufficient size to stay on the outside in the NFL. He is a savvy route runner that accelerates quickly and can force DBs to give big cushions or turn early, creating opportunities for easy separation. Nailor also has some nice run after catch skills and does an excellent job tracking the ball downfield, making him a dangerous threat at all levels of the field. As a freshman he also demonstrated his ability to be a threat in the running game. The injuries are definitely a concern, but they also will likely provide an opportunity for a team to get a talented WR at a discount if his injury luck changes in the NFL.

Greg Dulcich, TE, UCLA. Dulcich isn't the biggest TE at 6'4", 243 lbs, but he is an excellent athlete that put up big numbers for UCLA, dominated the Senior Bowl practices and then performed well at the combine. He is more of a pass catching TE than blocking TE, that is a proficient route runner with good hands. If the 49ers are after a move TE to pair with George Kittle and complement Charlie Woerner's blocking skills, Dulcich could be a nice target in round 4. 

Lucas Krull, TE, Pitt. Krull is an interesting TE prospect that brings excellent size (6'6", 250+ lbs) and athleticism (4.54s 40, 35" vertical, 120" broad, 4.36s shuttle), but was primarily used as a blocking TE in college until his senior year. His lack of receiving was due to being stuck behind Kyle Pitts at Florida for two years, and then after transferring to Pitt in 2020 he only played one game that year due to injury. In 2021 he finally got to show what he can do as a receiver as well as a blocker, grabbing 38 passes for 451 yards and six scores. Krull is currently expected to last until round 6 or 7, and could be a steal at that point.

Ty Chandler, RB, NC State. Chandler is a smaller back at around 5'11" and just over 200 lbs, but provides good speed and acceleration to be able to get to the outside as well as nice vision, decisiveness and agility to find the hole. This makes him a nice fit for an outside zone scheme. Chandler also displays the long speed to take it to the house as well as impressive receiving skills in the short, intermediate and deep areas of the field. Chandler looks like a player that could be a nice complement to Mitchell and Sermon, providing a speedier back that can also be a dangerous receiver out of the backfield.     

Julius Chestnut, RB, Sacred Heart. Chestnut has been a star of the FCS the past few seasons, and the driving force behind Sacred Heart. He's a big back at around 5'11" and 225 to 230 lbs that runs with aggression and power, but also has good athleticism and quick feet. He was a workhorse at Sacred Heart and is the type of RB that can carry a load while also providing explosive potential. The level of competition obviously needs to be factored in, but the level of dominance he displayed is what you want and expect to see for a draftable prospect in the FCS. Cherstnut's combination of size, athelticism and dominance at the FCS level makes him an intriguing RB prospect late day 3 or as an undrafted FA.