Say this for 49ers general manager Trent Baalke, he first, always will surprise on draft day, and secondly, he means it when he says he doesn’t draft for need. Both Baalke-isms were in play when he selected Samford safety Jaquiski Tarrt in the second round of the NFL draft.
Tarrt himself said he expected to go in the third or fourth round, not the second. Also, the 49ers already have three highly-touted safeties with former first-rounders Eric Reid and Jimmy Ward and last year’s team MVP Antoine Bethea. Obviously, Baalke felt Tarrt was the best man available, because with ardent needs at wide receiver, inside linebacker and cornerback, Baalke went safety.