The San Francisco 49ers decided against adding players in Wednesday’s supplemental draft, allowing them to keep their selections in the traditional 2019 NFL Draft.
Two teams added defensive backs Wednesday through the supplemental draft. The Giants took former Western Michigan cornerback Sam Beal in Round 3 before Washington tapped Virginia Tech corner Adonis Alexander in the sixth round. That means both teams forfeited their picks in those rounds in the draft next spring.
Beal and Alexander were among the five eligible prospects to get taken in the supplemental draft. The three others – Mississippi State safety Brandon Bryant, Grand Valley State running back Marty Carter and Oregon State linebacker Bright Ugwoegbu – are free agents that can sign with any team.
Alexander (6-2, 195) was considered a candidate for San Francisco because of his rare size and length for the position. But the 49ers already have a crowded group in the cornerback room. The team added former All-Pro Richard Sherman in free agency. He’s expected to start opposite second-year player Ahkello Witherspoon.
San Francisco drafted cornerback Tarvarius Moore, a converted safety, in Round 3 and tapped Kansas State’s D.J. Reed in the fifth round. Florida State’s Tarvarus McFadden signed as an undrafted free agent. Journeyman Tyvis Powell received first-team reps during the offseason program while 2014 first-round pick Jimmie Ward sat with a minor ankle injury.
Ward played cornerback in the spring after playing free safety in 2017. The coaching staff was trying to decide if Ward can play there while Sherman recovered from surgeries on both Achilles’ tendons.
The 49ers in 2019 have their picks in Rounds 1-4 and Round 6. They traded their fifth-round selection to Detroit for guard Laken Tomlinson before the start of the 2017 season. Tomlinson signed a three-year extension last month.
San Francisco might swap seventh-round picks with the Chiefs, depending on their records the coming season, as a result of the trade for wideout Rod Streater in 2016, according to Prosportstransactions.com.
