The San Francisco 49ers are in a great spot heading into the draft, having already sewn up their quarterback situation nicely with Jimmy Garoppolo. Now that they’ve done that, legendary 49ers receiver Jerry Rice wants the team to draft Courtland Sutton to give Garoppolo a dangerous weapon in the passing game.
The draft is couple days away. We’re looking for a receiver 6-4 215 pounds. I’m talking about Courtland Sutton SMU. A phototyical frame and physicality. #naturalathlete #goniners
— Jerry Rice (@JerryRice) April 23, 2018
Sutton is a tremendously talented young man and one of the players we’ve identified who deserves more respect nationally for his abilities. As Rice mentioned, Sutton has the prototypical No. 1 receiver frame, coming in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, and he’s not a slow, plodding guy, either, having run his 40 in 4.54 seconds.
In the past two seasons at SMU, all he did was haul in 144 passes for 2,331 yards and 22 touchdowns. So he clearly has the ability to produce, in addition to his outstanding physical attributes. Finally, just to add to why Sutton could be a great fit for the 49ers, he has an outstanding catch radius and comes down with some tough 50-50 balls, which is just what the 49ers need as a red-zone threat.
All told, Rice’s idea here isn’t a bad one. The big question is whether the 49ers would be willing to spend a top pick (currently own the No. 9 overall pick) to snag him. Otherwise, there’s a chance he won’t be around when they pick again barring a trade-up scenario.