San Francisco 49ers: Grading the 2019 NFL Draft class
By Justin Fried
Round 4 (110th Overall) — Mitch Wishnowsky, P, Utah
This is the pick that most people will be up in arms about — and with good reason.
Still with a myriad of needs to address, including the aforementioned secondary, the 49ers decided to use a top-110 draft pick on a punter. Now, I’m all for the whole “punters are people too” movement and believe that punters can be and are very important parts of a team.
Look no further than Seattle’s Michael Dickson who made waves last year and played a major role in the outcome of many games. That said, Dickson was considered by many to be one of the best punters to enter the league in recent memory.
And he still was drafted a full 39 picks after the 49ers elected to pick Utah’s Mitch Wishnowsky.
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It isn’t that Wishnowsky won’t be a good NFL punter — he may very well play 10+ years with the franchise. But to get the return on value that you would need for this pick to be worth it, he pretty much would have to be a perennial Pro Bowler and decade-long veteran of the team.
Still with a glaring need in the secondary, the team opted to pass on the position altogether even with the likes of Kendall Sheffield, Amani Hooker, and Deionte Thompson — three players who could have really helped out a struggling 49ers defensive back group.
Instead, they selected a punter who now must become an All-Pro caliber player for the selection to be validated. Not an ideal selection here, and not a great way to kick off Day 3.