San Francisco 49ers
Stacked Against the Pick:
Jan 20, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; A general view of a San Francisco 49ers helmet prior to the NFC Championship game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The 49ers defense is rock solid at the linebacker and defensive end positions. It’s pretty tough to see Long cracking the roster in San Fran. If there’s a position the team is trying to really improve it stands in the defensive backfield.
The Perfect Storm:
However, Long’s recent injury could be seen as something that might take a while to fully recover from anyway. If the 49ers see him as a developmental prospect that could sit on the practice squad and get fully healthy over the next season or two and then come in and relieve some cap space as a beefed up pass rusher, they might take a chance. They’ll have to take a couple project players anyway in the later rounds with all the compensatory picks, so it wouldn’t totally surprise me to see a move like Long to the Bay. I don’t know how to quantify what they will do with so many picks, so really anything could happen.
Likelihood of Getting Drafted by 49ers:
C- (I highly doubt it, but at the same time they may see Long as the perfect plan for the future of their inevitable cap space problems.)