2018 NFL Mock Draft: Browns land Baker Mayfield

*San Francisco and Oakland will flip a coin as a tiebreaker to determine the order of the ninth and tenth selections.

The 49ers made the biggest splash of the offseason by paying top dollar to keep their new franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, and now look to build around him in the hopes of returning to prominence in the NFC West.

After losing their first nine games in 2017, the Niners finished by winning six of their last seven due in large part to the arrival of Garoppolo. General manager John Lynch knows that with his franchise quarterback now in place, the focus must turn to continuing to build a stout defense, and here they turn to Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith with the ninth overall pick.

Smith has some of the most freakish athleticism at the linebacker position in this class and tallied a whopping 137 tackles and 6.5 sacks in his final season with the Bulldogs. No matter where you are on the field, Smith always seems to be around the ball making plays and has outstanding speed for the position. He’s a tad undersized but more than makes up for it for his versatility and athleticism.

The Niners were likely already in the market to add to their linebacking corps even before the news of Reuben Foster’s current legal issues broke, meaning it’s an even likelier scenario at this point in time. The team could potentially opt to trade down and look for wide receiver or running back help in the first round but for now, they could stand to use a playmaker of Smith’s caliber to bolster their front seven.