SANTA CLARA — The 49ers finished out the NFL Draft’s second round Friday night by swinging a trade — not involving one of their heralded wide receivers — before drafting defensive back Rendardo Green.
Their third-round pick is slated for the 94th-overall slot, with six slots ensuing before a break until Saturday’s final rounds.
A run on offensive tackles presumably prompted the 49ers to slide the No. 63 spot to the Kansas City Chiefs, thus moving the Niners down one slot for Florida State’s Green. As part of that deal, the 49ers acquired a fifth-round pick (No. 173 overall) and sent a sixth-rounder (No. 211) to their two-time Super Bowl nemesis.
Renardo Green, FSU
Green brings versatility and speed to the secondary, after five seasons at Florida State.
“They fit me. They fit me,” Green said on a video conference with Bay Area media. “They play like some savages, they play like some dogs. Everybody flies around to the ball, everybody makes plays on the ball, everybody comes to hit and play.
“It’s a high-energy, attacking defense,” Green added. “They don’t sit back and let the offense come at them. No, they attack.”
A freshman cornerback in 2019, he spent the next two seasons at safety but also lined up in the slot, which is a job the 49ers looked to fill this draft. He moved back to cornerback the past two seasons, and he noted how he went up against LSU’s prolific tandem of quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Malik Nabers, who were selected Nos. 2 and 6 in Thursday’s first round.
Green has one interception in 52 career games, but the 49ers noted he had 13 pass breakups, 14 passes defended and 43 tackles last season. They initially listed him as a cornerback.
Green was in touch through the pre-draft process with secondary coach Daniel Bullocks. “I didn’t think they’d pull the trigger on me,” Green added.
Green thought those casual conversations with Green built trust between the two, adding: “One thing he said was he wouldn’t want to fight me, and I asked him why. He said, ‘I feel you’d fight until you die.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s supposed to be like that. That is what a dog is. You ever seen a dog fight?’ He’s seen how I am: a dog and tenacious football player; an instinctive, athletic football player; and, a versatile, smart football player ”
After three cornerbacks went in the first round, six followed in the second round before Green went to the 49ers.
Earlier Friday, first-round pick Ricky Pearsall Jr. arrived at Levi’s Stadium with his family, and while he deftly handled his media obligations, he said he was eager to obtain the playbook and embed himself in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
One spot before the 49ers’ original turn in the second round, they saw the Baltimore Ravens snatch up Washington’s Roger Rosengarten, the third offensive tackle to go in an eight-pick span. Then, at No. 63, the Chiefs slid into the 49ers’ slot and took BYU offensive tackle Kingsley Suamatia.
Meanwhile, speculation continued to swirl whether the 49ers might trade fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel, a more likely candidate that Brandon Aiyuk since the first-round collateral had been spent Thursday. Samuel told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini his initial impression of Pearsall’s addition: “I know what’s going on, but it is what it is. I’m good staying with them. I’m chilling.”
The 49ers are set to enter Saturday with six picks: fourth round, Nos. 132 and 135; fifth round, Nos. 173 and 176; sixth round, No. 215; and, seventh round, No. 251.
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