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NFL Mock Draft: 49ers Take Texas CB Jahdae Barron with 11th Pick

This is an intriguing pick.

Grant Cohn

Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron (7) receives the most outstanding player award after a victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron (7) receives the most outstanding player award after a victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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This is an intriguing pick.

Most people expect the 49ers to take an offensive lineman or defensive lineman with their first-round pick because they're so depleted in the trenches. But they also need a cornerback, so would they take one if he's the best player available?

Pro Football Network thinks the 49ers would draft a cornerback with the 11th pick. That's why they project the 49ers to take Texas corner Jahdae Barron.

"John Lynch and the 49ers are looking to reload while staying competitive in the NFC, despite how Murphy’s Law impacted their 2024 season," writes PFN analyst Reese Decker.

"With Charvarius Ward and Talanoa Hufanga leaving in free agency, San Francisco urgently needs help in the secondary. Barron is one of the top defensive backs in this draft class. The 2024 Jim Thorpe Award winner is a seasoned veteran with 56 career games, including 38 starts for the Longhorns.

"A true lockdown defender, he racked up 11 pass breakups and five interceptions in his final season while proving to be a strong tackler. His versatility is a major asset—he can step in at nickel, corner, or safety, filling multiple roles in the 49ers’ defense."

At 5'11" and 194 lbs., Barron has the size to play cornerback, nickelback or safety. He also ran a 4.39, so he should have the speed to play man-to-man coverage in the NFL.

If the 49ers choose not to reach for a lineman with the 11th pick, Barron very well could be the best player available.

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Grant Cohn
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.

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