2017 NFL Mock Draft: San Francisco 49ers Select S Malik Hooker at No. 2

With the 2nd pick in the 2017 DBN Community NFL Mock Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select...

Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State

The selection and write-up were made by unoservix:

Much like the Browns, the 2016 San Francisco 49ers were terrible in pretty much all possible ways, and heading into this offseason they needed basically a new everything. They were active in free agency for veteran offensive players, but they're also rolling into 2017 with the dynamic duo of Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley under center, so the Niners don't appear to be gearing up for a title run this year. I waffled a lot on this pick since the 49ers have so many needs and only one elite prospect is off the board, but the Niners did have one of the worst defenses in the league last year, and just by crazy random happenstance this happens to be a draft loaded with defensive talent.

Newly-minted head coach Kyle Shanahan has spoken of building a defense like Seattle's, and he hired former Seahawks defensive coach Robert Saleh for the task. And a good place to start building a Seahawks-style bully is a ball-hawking safety who can lock down the middle of the field. So, enter Malik Hooker. He has the instincts, the coverage skills, the range, and a nose for the football to become the 49ers' answer to Earl Thomas, the sort of player the Seahawks-style defense depends on. Such a player is so difficult to find that he's worth pouncing on when he presents himself at number two overall. The 49ers currently don't have anyone close to that description; Antoine Bethea is gone, Eric Reid is frequently injured, and Jaquiski Tartt is just not that guy. Hooker is raw, inexperienced, and coming off labrum and sports hernia surgeries that kept him out of workouts at the Combine, and I expect him to be picked on a lot during his rookie year. But since the Niners don't appear to be building to win in 2017, Shanahan and friends should have time to let Hooker heal up and develop him into a more polished player before Jed York's trigger finger starts itching. Their patience as he gains experience should be rewarded with a centerpiece to their defense for years to come.

Pokorny: Cleveland will get a pass for not taking a quarterback at No. 1 (because of Garrett), but some of these other teams could feel the pressure to take one. Still, I don’t find myself complaining about the 49ers going with perhaps the top defensive back in the draft here. They’ve made a commitment to Brian Hoyer for 2017, and if Kyle Shanahan as the new head coach feels that he’s the guy this year and adding to that position can be deferred to 2018, I get it. You can’t fix everything in one year, and some teams want to make sure that if they take a quarterback of the future, they only do so when their roster is set up for it to work.

The Chicago Bears are up next, led by CTBuckeye.