The San Francisco 49ers were talked about for weeks as a team primed to trade up in Thursday's first round to grab one of the draft's premier wideouts.
Instead of wheeling and dealing for one of the draft's speed demons -- something the 49ers need at the position -- the club stayed home at No. 30 to pick safety Jimmie Ward out of Northern Illinois.
How to watch the NFL draft
With the 2014 NFL Draft officially underway, find out how to catch all the action from Radio City Music Hall on NFL Network. **More ...**
Niners general manager Trent Baalke isn't sweating it, telling reporters on Thursday night that there's still plenty of time to find a difference-making pass-catcher.
"We feel good about the wide receiver corps all the way through the draft," Baalke said, per the Bay Area News Group. "We feel there's value to be had at every level. We felt all along it was one of the positions that had some depth to it."
That depth has been thinned heading into Round 2 after Sammy Watkins (Bills), Mike Evans (Buccaneers), Odell Beckham (Giants), Brandin Cooks (Saints) and Kelvin Benjamin (Panthers) were scooped up in Thursday's opening act. Baalke said the team was specifically piqued to see Beckham go to the New York Giants, saying: "We certainly liked him as a football player."
With Fresno State's Davante Adams, USC's Marqise Lee and Indiana's Cody Latimer still up for grabs, the 49ers have options, but the receiver-needy Jets, Jaguars, Ravens and Browns all pick before San Francisco in Round 2.
With a pair of second-rounders at Nos. 56 and 61, the Niners are still in play to package picks and move up the board.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" provides instant reaction to all the wild happenings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
