Introducing the 49ers' 2020 draft class

Here's what you need to know about the 49ers' rookies.

Grant Cohn | Apr 26, 2020

The 49ers took five players in the 2020 NFL Draft:

Round 1, pick 14: Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina.

Round 1, pick 25: Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State.

Round 5, pick 153: Colton McKivitz, G/T, West Virginia.

Round 6, pick 190: Charlie Woerner, TE, Georgia.

Round 7, pick 217: Jauan Jennings, WR, Tennessee.

Kinlaw: A three-technique defensive tackle, like DeForest Buckner. Kinlaw is Buckner's replacement. Kinlaw will fill Buckner's role and might even wear Buckner's No. 99. But Kinlaw isn't Buckner's caliber -- very few defensive tackles are. Buckner was the seventh pick in the 2016 draft, and has only improved since then.

Kinlaw has more in common with Arik Armstead, the 17th pick of the 2015. Both are extremely powerful, but can be beat slow reacting to the snap, and both have issues finishing plays consistently. Neither recorded lots of sacks in college. Both came out of college with big-time potential.

Aiyuk: A split-end wide receiver, like Emmanuel Sanders. But Sanders also lined up in the slot quite often. Aiyuk probably will stay outside. He's similar to former Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. Like Nicks, Aiyuk has extremely long arms and makes acrobatic, leaping catches over the middle. But Aiyuk is more dangerous after the catch.

McKivitz: Played offensive tackle in college. Probably will play guard for the 49ers, at least at first. Has a chance to start as a rookie if he wins the competition at right guard. He will compete with Daniel Brunskill and veteran Tom Compton.

Woerner: A blocking specialist. He will replace Levine Toilolo, who replaced Garrett Celek, who replaced Logan Paulsen. Woerner also could backup fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who missed four games in 2019.

Jennings: A big slot receiver. The 49ers need someone to replace Sanders in the slot, and Jennings is a candidate for the job along with Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd. Jennings is not particularly quick or fast, but he's good. He's similar to Anquan Boldin -- a big slot receiver who out-muscled smaller cornerbacks for the ball.

Published Apr 26, 2020

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.