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          Todd McShay mock 3.0: 49ers select DL Arik Armstead

          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 26, 2015, 03:15 PM ET
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          Breaking what had become custom, albeit in a small sample size, ESPN NFL draftnik Todd McShay did not select a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers in his Insider mock draft 3.0 on Thursday.

          Rather, McShay selected a defensive lineman for the Niners at No. 15 overall -- Oregon defensive tackle Arik Armstead.

          I like it. And I think the 49ers would be thrilled to find the 6-foot-7, 292-pound Armstead still sitting there when their turn to select comes up on April 30. Especially if the projected game-changing receivers are gone by the time the Niners are on the clock, guys like West Virginia’s Kevin White, Alabama’s Amari Cooper and Louisville’s Devante Parker, all of whom McShay has off the board before the Niners’ turn.

          Armstead was one of the players I thought the 49ers should keep an eye on at the combine as he could project to a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, which the Niners will keep under first-year coach Jim Tomsula.

          The uncertainty around Justin Smith, who may retire, and the termination of Ray McDonald last December makes D-line a need for the Niners. Because even if Smith, who will turn 36 in September, returns for a 15th NFL season, it most likely will be his last, so the Niners need to address the position for the future anyway.

          In Oregon’s national championship game loss to Ohio State, the ultra-athletic Armstead, who also played basketball for the Ducks, had nine tackles and a fumble recovery.

          He had a somewhat pedestrian 5.1-second 40 time (LSU’s Danielle Hunter had a 4.57 to lead D-linemen) at the combine, with 24 reps in the bench press (Northwestern State’s Deon Simon had 35) and a 34-inch vertical, which was tied for sixth among D-linemen (UCLA’s Owamagbe Odighizuwa had a 39-inch leap).

          Armstead also had a 117-inch broad jump, a 4.53-second time in the 20-yard shuttle and a 7.57-second time in the three-cone drill.

          In McShay’s first two mock drafts, he selected Michigan receiver Devin Funchess and Ohio State receiver Devin Smith for the Niners, respectively, though neither was selected in McShay’s first round this time.