Golden Nuggets: Talking myself into these rookie o-linemen

Scot McCloughan praises 49ers draft pick Jacob Cowing: ‘He’s like a little bolt of lightning’ (paywall)

“The final draft pick McCloughan looked at was running back Isaac Guerendo, who averaged 6.1 yards a carry and scored 11 touchdowns for Louisville last season.

“He had a good year,” McCloughan said. “But (he’s) nothing special. Unless he can return kicks and play special teams, I’d be surprised if he makes the team.”

Was he not impressed by Guerendo’s 4.33-second 40 time at the combine? McCloughan noted that neither the combine nor a prospect’s pre-draft interviews factor into his evaluations. His assessments are based solely on a player’s college film.

“He did that in a T-shirt and shorts, buddy, a T-shirt and shorts,” he said. “I can understand why he went where he went because of how he worked out. But as you’re well aware, I don’t deal with that (stuff). That’s not how I draft at all.”

Hutchinson: 5 burning questions for 49ers roster after NFL Draft

“Usually, watching the 49ers’ undrafted offensive line signings is an exercise in convincing yourself a guy, maybe, perhaps, possibly could be something. It’s a bunch of beat writers walking each other through their mirages, encouraging one another to bask in the grandeur of their delusion. “Join me, join me,” they say, as they point you to a practice squad player who will play three career games, if he’s lucky.

This year feels different.

The 49ers identified that one of the main reasons they lost in the Super Bowl were protection breakdowns, especially at right guard. As it stood, their production wasn’t good enough. Jon Feliciano is a great rotational backup, but Spencer Burford just lacked any consistency. He would make mistakes, lose footing, and have more head-scratching plays than confidence-inspiring ones.

This isn’t me lashing out at Burford. The 49ers drafted Dominick Puni, who is going to compete with him immediately at right guard. Feliciano will probably be in the mix, too, but the 49ers know exactly what he offers.

The depth they added on the interior is extremely intriguing. Jarret Kingston could play at guard or center, and their two undrafted center prospects, in Michigan’s Drake Nugent, and Southern Mississippi’s Briayson Mays, are both athletic.

Those two offensive line draft picks and two undrafted free agents all ran sub-4.47-second shuttle times (of which Jake Brendel, an undrafted free agent, also possesses), which is a sneaky strong indicator of future NFL success given that it shows lateral quickness and burst.”

How 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall attacked his weakness and boosted his draft stock (paywall)

“Pearsall’s weight-room work to increase his strength was evident in his play. Last season he dwarfed his career-best totals with 65 catches for 965 yards. In 2022, his first season at Florida after transferring from Arizona State, he had 33 catches for 661 yards, despite playing with QB Anthony Richardson, the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft.

At the combine, 27 of the 39 wide receivers didn’t participate in the bench press. But Pearsall did. He had 17 reps of 225 pounds, ranking sixth among the 12 wideouts who lifted.

“His desire to do the bench press, to test well, I think that was a little bit of, ‘OK, I’m going to answer the critics here,’ ” Napier said. “And I think he ultimately checked that box.”

Napier, 44, a 21-year NCAA veteran, has termed Pearsall “one of my favorite players of all time.” And Pearsall’s response to the NFL’s critique helps explain why. Napier said Pearsall is “almost OCD, to a degree,” and his attention to detail is reflected in his exquisite route-running and sticky hands (six drops on 233 career targets). Pearsall insisted on catching 100 consecutive balls from a JUGS machine, before and after practice, and he would restart if he had a drop.

“He’s got the keys to the facility,” Napier said. “I would like to think I’m one of the first to get here and one of the last to leave. He’s working coaches’ hours.”

Lynch explains why drafting 49ers culture fits is becoming easier

““I think it’s easier,” Lynch said on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday. “The continuity of Kyle and I working together and early on, we went to great lengths in terms of finding exactly what we want in terms of the talent and the spirit. What are the qualities that we want in a Niner? And those things are fluid and they change, but we have a saying around here. Our wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson tells those guys, ‘No block, no rock.’ So if you want the ball, you better be blocking for your teammates.

“You see Christian McCaffrey doing it for Deebo Samuel. Brandon Aiyuk is tremendous, I love the way that guy plays. His spirit. Jauan Jennings, taking the dude from Green Bay into the Gatorade [cooler]. That stuff is contagious and that’s what we’ve talked about. We want guys who are contagiously competitive. We have a standard and once that standard is set, if you think the guy is made of the right stuff, he might not have been asked to block like that in college, so you have to do some predicting of let’s get to know the person, what was he asked to do, are you willing to do that.

“So those are the players we like to bring in. Like-minded people and we have a standard in which we play and the players, it’s up to them to withhold that standard.”