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Pick your favorite 49ers mock NFL draft, Niners Wire edition

We’re 10 days away from the start of the NFL draft April 27, when the 49ers will have 10 picks to reshape the roster after going 7-25 the last two seasons.

New general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have a tall task ahead as they lay the foundation for their tenures after getting matching six-year contracts. Their 10 selections include the second in each round, giving them plenty of ammunition to trade throughout the draft and maneuver for players they target.

We’ve published two complete seven-round mock drafts the last two weeks projecting all 10 of the 49ers picks (here and here). We’ll have one more this week and another final version before the draft starts the following Thursday.

In this post, our writers Rob Lowder, Jerod Brown and myself made the club’s first five picks (through Round 4) in simulated mock drafts using the Fanspeak On the Clock tool to allow our readers to pick their favorite projections. Be sure to vote in our poll at the end (serious bragging rights are on the line).

Here are my first five picks for the 49ers:

(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Round 1 (pick 2): Malik Hooker, FS, Ohio State
Round 2 (pick 34): Kevin King, CB, Washington
Round 3 (pick 66): Zay Jones, WR, Eastern Carolina
Round 4 (pick 109): Tarell Basham, DE, Ohio
Round 4 (pick 143): Derek Rivers, DE, Youngstown State

Although I would have liked to land a quarterback after the second round – Nathan Peterman, Brad Kaaya or Josh Dobbs – none were available without reaching. Perhaps the 49ers trade into a spot where they could find of those players if they face a similar scenario.

Otherwise, I’ve long believed Hooker would be the best player for San Francisco at No. 2 given the value of a rangy free safety at the back end of their new single-high defense. Hooker has elite range and could turn into one of the best free safeties in the NFL quickly. But there are questions about his health after needing hip surgery following the season that’s prevented him from working out for teams.

I tried to hit on valuable positions with the remaining picks. King (6-3, 200) has the ideal skill set to play the physical brand of corner the 49ers are looking for after recently cutting Tramaine Brock following a domestic violence arrest. Jones could compete for a starting spot right way among the team’s unsettled receiving corps.

Basham (6-4, 269) and Rivers (6-4, 248) would give the 49ers the pass rushers they need on the strong and weak sides to convert to their new 4-3. A linebacker would have been nice with one of the first five selections, but San Francisco seems content to start NaVorro Bowman and Malcolm Smith in 2017.

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