49ers land replacement for key player while also taking a gamble on a 'sleeper'
The San Francisco 49ers added a couple of interesting pieces to their roster on Saturday during the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. With their first pick in the fifth round (No. 155 overall), the 49ers selected South Alabama cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. Luter has a thinnish frame (6-foot/189 lbs), but he has excellent […]
The San Francisco 49ers added a couple of interesting pieces to their roster on Saturday during the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
With their first pick in the fifth round (No. 155 overall), the 49ers selected South Alabama cornerback Darrell Luter Jr.
Luter has a thinnish frame (6-foot/189 lbs), but he has excellent length (32 and 3/8 inch arms) and he's extremely athletic (4.46 in 40-yard dash and a 40.5-inch vertical leap).
The former South Alabama standout should be a perfect replacement for cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, who signed with the Detroit Lions earlier this offseason.
Luter needs to improve his tackling (too many arm tackles), but that's something that can be said about most players entering the NFL as rookies.
After selecting Luter, the 49ers then drafted Georgia edge rusher Robert Beal Jr, a potential sleeper that could provide tremendous value, with the No. 173 overall pick.
Unlike many of his former Bulldogs teammates, Beal doesn't have a history of high production in the SEC (10 career sacks over four seasons). But that's mostly because he played behind a lot of talented players in Athens for the last several years. Beal probably would've benefited from transferring to another program where he could've been a featured pass rusher.
With Beal, the 49ers are betting on his potential. He's essentially a perfect fifth-round pick — upside and talent, but still needs to prove he can produce at a high level. Essentially, he's a project with plenty of upside.
It's usually not wise to get excited over fifth-round picks, but the 49ers did a nice job of finding a couple of players on day three that look like hidden gems.
