49ers land Jameis Winston in ESPN’s 4-round NFL re-draft

The San Francisco 49ers landed a new starting quarterback in Jameis Winston in ESPN’s NFL re-draft.

The San Francisco 49ers have arguably the most talented roster in the NFL today. And for that reason, they were likely always going to receive the short end of the stick in ESPN’s four-round NFL re-draft.

When you dilute the talent of the best teams and attempt to disperse it evenly you end up with the better teams becoming worse and vice versa. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun thought-provoking exercise.

Especially during a time like this where people are starved for sports, why not have a little fun with it?

The rules were simple. Every NFL player was available to be picked and salary caps didn’t matter. All teams were required to select at least one quarterback, non-QB offensive player, and a defensive player with their fourth selection being a so-called “wild card” pick.

The order was determined based on the 2020 NFL Draft order with traded pick returns and each “GM” (the ESPN beat reporter for each team) was given the goal of winning a Super Bowl within the next five years.

Let’s take a look at how ESPN’s Nick Wagoner did with the 49ers.

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49ers re-draft results

• Round 1 (31st overall): George Kittle, TE
• Round 2 (34th overall): Myles Garrett, DE
• Round 3 (95th overall): Jameis Winston, QB
• Round 4 (98th overall): Grady Jarrett, DT

With essentially all of the top quarterbacks off the board, Wagoner decided to go with who he thought was the best player available. And it should be a face that’s very familiar to 49ers fans.

The team went with George Kittle, arguably the best tight end in football, with their first pick. It seems as though most beat reporters opted for at least one player that’s currently on their team but it’s hard to argue against the pick here.

Kittle is still relatively young and will act as not only the basis for the offensive skill players, but as insurance for the offensive line seeing as Wagoner did not select one in this draft.

And then three picks later, he landed perhaps the steal of the draft in Myles Garrett with the 34th overall pick. At just 24-years-old, Garrett is arguably the most valuable edge rusher in the entire league and to land him at the beginning of the second round is absurd value.

Wagoner then waited until the third round to address quarterback and it came with the controversial Jameis Winston. Winston won’t be a starter in the NFL this year, but it’s easy to see him thriving in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme.

It’s a bit of a gamble, but that’s about as good as you’re going to do that late in the third round.

Finally, he made sure to maintain the strength of the team even in this fantasy world by drafting one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL in Grady Jarrett.

Jarrett will pair up with what Wagoner referred to as his “Arrett brother” to make for possibly the best defensive line duo selected in this re-draft.

You could argue that an offensive lineman like Zark Martin or a receiver like Stefon Diggs or D.J. Moore would have been better, but Jarrett is a safe pick that helps establish a strength on the defensive side of the ball.

For what it’s worth, ESPN analysts Mike Clay ranked this draft in his top tier of drafts placing it as one of his favorite classes in the entire re-draft.

The 49ers were always going to come out worse for wear in an NFL re-draft, but Wagoner did a good job of solidifying both sides of the ball and making the most out of the picks he had.