Niners Nation
Mike Tannenbaum of ESPN shares his rationale on his selection at pick 11
Mike Tannenbaum has a long history in the NFL, front offices, and war rooms. After a brief stint with the New Orleans Saints as a player personnel assistant in 1996, Tannenbaum spent 1997 through 2012 as the director of player contract negotiations before becoming the senior VP of football and assistant general manager and finally, as general manager in 2006 with the New York Jets.
The Jets eventually moved on from Tannenbaum following the 2012 NFL season, leading to a brief stint with Priority Sports, overseeing coaching, broadcasting, and front-office sectors. Beginning in 2014, Tannenbaum joined the Miami Dolphins as a consultant before a promotion to EVP of football operations.
These days, Tannenbaum is ESPN’s resident NFL front-office insider. The former general manager released his latest mock draft for the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft and sat down for a conference call to take questions from reporters for several NFL teams today.
When it came to the 49ers at pick 11, Tannenbaum selected CB Will Johnson from Michigan, neglecting the team’s needs for the defensive and offensive lines.
I asked Tannenbaum about his decision to select the rangy cornerback from Michigan with glaring needs in the trenches for the 49ers.
Those [needs] make a lot of other sense, too. I think they could go O line, D line for sure.
Just given some of the players they’ve lost over the last year. I felt like losing Charvarius Ward [is a huge loss]. I have a lot of respect for Kris Kocurek. I worked with him in Miami. I think you can manufacture eight, nine deep with a wave of players, 15, 20 snaps. And you could add guys and cobble that together. I think Will Johnson, when healthy, you go back a year ago, was outstanding, has great length and really good ball skills. I forgot the number, but it was like he only faced 167 plays this year in coverage. So he was dealing with injuries, but if he’s healthy, I think they’re getting almost a steal to get him where they are.
And to me, he’s just too good of a player to pass up if I’m the 49ers.
The former general manager is banking on defensive line coach Kris Kocurek’s ability to get the best of his defensive line unit and adding a flexible cover corner for Robert Saleh’s defense.
My follow-up question revolved around a “trade down” strategy and the risk involved with waiting for your targeted player.
Yeah, I’ve learned both positively and negatively. When you trade back, and you go back 10 spots, you better have 10 players that you feel really, really good about. If you trade back saying: we’re gonna get Player X, that’s happened to me where that didn’t work out.
Fortunately, the player that was picked didn’t turn out to be the player that the team that...
