NFC Notes: Braden Fiske, Marvin Harrison Jr., 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

The 49ers added talented pass catchers in the draft to give them depth and insurance if WRs Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk do not agree to an extension. Former GM Scot McCloughan is a big fan of San Francisco’s fourth-round WR Jacob Cowing. 

“Damn good football player,” McCloughan said, via Matt Barrows of The Athletic. “He’s quick, fast. He’s instinctive, he’s competitive. He scored a lot of touchdowns, too, and can get down the field and go. He’s cool. He’s really, really cool.”

“He’ll tear up rookie minicamp, seven-on-seven, all that stuff. You’ll be like, ‘Wow!’ you wait and see. He’ll blow your mind. He’s fast and quick. He’s like a little bolt of lightning — gone!”

Cardinals

Regarding the Cardinals trading their No. 3 overall pick to the Texans in the 2023 NFL Draft which wound up being DE Will Anderson Jr., an anonymous NFL executive thinks Arizona is still rebuilding and may have wasted Anderson’s potential on down years. 

“I’d rather have Will Anderson, but you have to know your team, too,” an executive said, via Mike Sando of The Athletic. “They might have wasted four years of Will Anderson while constructing their roster.”

Another executive thinks Arizona made the right move by acquiring draft capital last year. 

“That is well-played because they need as many NFL-quality players as they can get,” the executive said. 

As for this year’s draft, another executive feels it was wise to stay put and select WR Marvin Harrison Jr. 

“If (Harrison) turns out to be less than what you hoped, no one is going to say you tried to outsmart yourself,” another executive said. “If you bust going away from the consensus best player at a position, people will say, ‘You dumbass, everyone knew Marvin Harrison was going to be great.’”

Rams

Regarding the Rams trading for DT Braden Fiske, Mike Sando of The Athletic cites an anonymous NFL executive who said his team was also interested in Fiske but feels Los Angeles giving up a 2025 second-round 2024 fifth-round picks was too much. 

“We liked Fiske, but what they gave up, I mean, can you find another trade in the second round that gave up as much as they gave up, over the last 10 years?” an executive said. “I don’t even know if they are weighing the trade calculations.”