49ers tried to fill many different needs in the draft

SANTA CLARA, Calif. –You could argue the 49ers, coming off a 5-11 season and unable to make much of a splash in free agency, had needs at every position entering the NFL draft.

So it’s no surprise general manager Trent Baalke, new coach Chip Kelly and the 49ers’ other decision-makers selected basically an entire team with the club’s 11 picks.

The 49ers came away with a quarterback, a running back, a wide receiver, two offensive tackles, a guard, two defensive ends and three cornerbacks in the three-day process, impacting the roster in pretty much every area except linebacker, punter and placekicker.

The club appeared to be in “best available athlete” mode for the entire seven rounds, beginning with the No. 7 overall pick in the draft, where they selected an Oregon defensive end, DeForest Buckner, for the second year in a row.

The 49ers used their first pick on Oregon’s Arik Armstead last year.

But one report had the 49ers inquiring to move into the top five, where they reportedly were interested in the draft’s top cornerback, Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey.

So it’s quite possible the 49ers, unable to get one of the two standout quarterbacks — Cal’s Jared Goff and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz — had identified cornerback as their second-greatest need.

And later, Baalke seemed to indicate the team had considered Mississippi offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil before the highly regarded prospect was tied to drug use on the day of the draft.

So offensive tackle clearly rated high on the list of priorities as well.

Unable to move up early in Round 1, Baalke made a move into the end of the round in order to solidify the offensive line with Stanford’s Joshua Garnett.

The jump from No. 37 in the second round to No. 28 in the first cost the club a second- (37th overall), fourth- (105) and sixth-round (178) pick. The 49ers also received a seventh-round pick (249) in the deal.

–The 49ers made seven picks in the first five rounds, all at positional needs.

All seven will go to training camp with a chance to start as a rookie.

That said, their first pick of the sixth round almost surely will be the talk of 49ers fans when the club starts sorting things out for the 2016 season.

The 49ers used the 32nd pick of the sixth round on Louisiana Tech quarterback Jeff Driskel, who had a rather nondescript college career that began at Florida and ended at Louisiana Tech.

So what’s the big deal?

Any new quarterback has to intrigue 49ers fans, who have been praying for months that the team could unload Colin Kaepernick on someone else and land either Goff or Wentz.

That dream came to a crash landing on Day 1 of the draft when Goff and Wentz went 1-2, and the 49ers failed to come to an agreement with the Denver Broncos on a possible Kaepernick trade.

So that left Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert competing for the 2016 starting spot … until the Driskel selection.

He was, after all, considered the No. 1 prep prospect before landing at Florida as “the next Tim Tebow” five years ago.

The 6-foot-4, 234-pounder was a disappointment in the Southeastern Conference, but he did finish his college career with a bang, throwing for more than 4,000 yards at Louisiana Tech, including 458 against Arkansas State in the New Orleans Bowl.

A punishing runner who scored 14 touchdowns as a collegian, Driskel could be a good fit in Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme.

49ers fans sure hope so. They are almost unanimously convinced Kaepernick and Gabbert aren’t.

A closer look at the 49ers’ picks:

–Round 1/7 — DeForest Buckner, DE, 6-7, 300, Oregon

The 49ers featured quantity, but not necessarily quality, along the defensive line in the wake of DE Ray McDonald’s termination and DE Justin Smith’s retirement the last two seasons. 2015 top pick DE Arik Armstead struggled as a rookie, but could develop into a future bookend for Buckner, who is a much more highly decorated prospect. Buckner earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors last season after recording 10 1/2 sacks and 10 pass deflections.

–Round 1/28 — Joshua Garnett, G, 6-5, 325, Stanford

After taking the Pac-12’s top defensive player, the 49ers went to the other side of the ball and secured the conference’s top offensive lineman. In fact, Garnett was rated as all of football’s top offensive lineman in 2015, earning the Outland Trophy as well as unanimous All-America honors. The 49ers struggled at right guard last season, and lost their left guard, G Ray Boone, to free agency in the offseason. But the additions of Garnett and free agent G Zane Beadles give new coach Chip Kelly two immediate plug-in replacements.

–Round 3/68– Will Redmond, CB, 6-0, 186, Mississippi State

The 49ers didn’t get the shutdown cornerback they dreamed of locking up in the draft, but Redmond figures to jump right into the pass-coverage mix nonetheless. That is, if he’s healthy enough to do so. 49ers general manager Trent Baalke continued a recent trend of using relatively high picks on injured players, with Redmond having suffered a season-ending torn right ACL in October. He is expected to be ready for training camp, however.

–Round 4/133 — Rashard Robinson, CB, 6-1, 163, LSU

That’s correct: 163 pounds. Suffice it to say, Robinson is not a powerful force in the run game. Nor does he appear to be disciplined, having been suspended once and eventually kicked off the LSU team. But he did start 12 games for a very good LSU squad in 2013, at which point he surely projected to be higher than a fourth-round NFL pick. The 49ers are hoping that’s the player that shows up at training camp.

–Round 5/142 — Ronald Blair, DE, 6-4, 270, Appalachian State

Blair is considered a run-stopping defensive end despite having recorded 7 1/2 sacks last season. His 19 tackles for loss last season are what caught the eye of most NFL scouts. He would be considered a nice tag-team partner for DE Arik Armstead if last year’s No. 1 draft pick were to be used more this season as a pass-rush specialist.

–Round 5/145 — John Theus, OT, 6-6, 303, Georgia

Like fourth-round pick Rashard Robinson of LSU, Theus probably would have been a much higher choice if he had been eligible to enter the draft after an impressive freshman season, during which he started every game. He went on to start a total of 48 at Georgia, making him, if nothing else, plenty experienced. Theus will be given an opportunity to compete for a starting spot in his freshman season with the 49ers as well, with the club having been unable to adequately replace OT Anthony Davis following his “retirement” last year.

–Round 5/174 — Fahn Cooper, OT, 6-5, 306, Mississippi

Using the same logic that led them to Georgia’s John Theus 21 picks earlier, the 49ers snatched the Southeastern Conference-experienced Cooper with their third pick of Round 5. Cooper is known as the guy who replaced OT Laremy Tunsil while the standout was on suspension for the first seven games of the 2015 season. But Cooper was no backup. Rather, he was merely switched over from his spot as the two-year starter on the right side. Like Theus, he will be thrown immediately into the mix to be a 49ers starting tackle this season.

–Round 6/207 — Jeff Driskel, QB, 6-4, 234, Louisiana Tech

Would Chip Kelly and QB Tim Tebow have been a good pairing? 49ers fans could find out now that “the next Tim Tebow” has been added to a shaky quarterback mix. The Florida transfer threw for over 4,000 yards last season at Louisiana Tech. But like Tebow, he’s considered more of a runner, as evidenced by his 14 rushing touchdowns in college.

–Round 6/211 — Kelvin Taylor, RB, 5-10, 205, Florida

49ers fans will find Fred Taylor’s son not to resemble his dad all that much. The younger Taylor is considered more of a change-of-pace back, something the 49ers will be looking for in training camp to complement starter RB Carlos Hyde. Taylor did rush for 1,000 yards last season.

–Round 6/213 — Aaron Burbridge, WR, 6-1, 208, Michigan State

Burbridge disappeared in Michigan State’s biggest games last season, which led some to conclude he’ll have trouble competing against top-flight competition at the NFL level. But he was plenty productive as a senior in the Spartans’ other games last season, setting a school record for receptions (85) while earning Big Ten Conference Receiver of the Year honors. He’ll compete for a slot-receiver spot among a lackluster group of returning 49ers.

–Round 7/249 — Prince Charles Iworah, CB, 5-10, 192, Western Kentucky

–Iworah is your classic undersized cover corner who lacks size but has the desired speed to potentially compete at the NFL level. Iworah clocked an impressive 4.32 seconds in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. He will join a suddenly crowded group of 49ers cornerbacks, with the club having earlier used a third-round pick on Will Redmond of Mississippi State and a fourth-rounder on Rashard Robinson of LSU.