Today I thought I’d take a look at how the 49ers have done thus far under the John Lynch/Kyle Shanahan regime when it comes to the draft, while also trying to project who could be long term fixtures.
So let’s take a look at each of their 5 drafts since 2017.
2017:
1st-Round(3rd-Overall): DT Solomon Thomas
1st-Round(31st-Overall): MLB Reuben Foster
3rd-Round(66th-Overall): CB Ahkello Witherspoon
3rd-Round(104th-Overall): QB C.J. Beathard
4th-Round(121st-Overall): RB Joe Williams
5th-Round(146th-Overall): TE George Kittle
5th-Round(177th-Overall): WR Trent Taylor
6th-Round(198th-Overall): NT D.J. Jones
6th-Round(202nd-Overall): SLB Pita Taumoepenu
7th-Round(229th-Overall): FS Adrian Colbert
Analysis: Now, obviously this didn’t work out well for the 49ers, as Solomon Thomas struggled to fit into the 49ers defense, whether it was due to his lack of production, or the fact the 49ers couldn’t figure out if he was supposed to be a Big End, LEO, or DT(3T), and the last straw was in 2020 when he tore his ACL in the 2nd game of the season, pretty much signaling the end of his tenure as a 49er.
At the time Reuben Foster was a great pick, highly regarded as a steal at 31 overall, but one thing led to another, a bunch of off the field issues, and the 49ers released Foster, luckily for the 49ers, his off the field issues voided any future guarantees in his contract.
While both Ahkello Witherspoon, & C.J. Beathard never panned out for the 49ers, Witherspoon had some glimpses during his career, but never showed that he could be a shutdown cornerback, while Beathard was average at best.
The 49ers hit on several day 3 picks, the fact that 5th-rounder George Kittle is regarded, my many, as the best all around tight end in the NFL, and if he didn’t have such poor QB play, he could have had better numbers when it comes to receiving touchdowns. They also nailed on 6th-rounder NT D.J. Jones, who while having some injury issues, he’s turned into a solid rotational player for the 49ers. Lastly Trent Taylor, the teams other 5th-rounder overall was a good pick, despite the fact that his last 2-years he dealt with injuries, & just being inconsistent.
It’s obvious that John Lynch was right to keep Joe Williams off the draft board, as it was Kyle Shanahan who pounded the table to take him, while late round picks Pita Taumoepenu, & Adrian Colbert couldn’t earn roles on the 49ers.
2018:
1st-Round(9th-Overall): RT Mike McGlinchey
2nd-Round(44th-Overall): WR Dante Pettis
3rd-Round(70th-Overall): MLB Fred Warner
3rd-Round(95th-Overall): FS Tarvarius Moore
4th-Round(128th-Overall): DT Kentavius Street
5th-Round(142nd-Overall): CB D.J. Reed
6th-Round(184th-Overall): SS Marcell Harris
7th-Round(223rd-Overall): NT Jullian Taylor
7th-Round(240th-Overall): WR Richie James Jr.
Analysis: Now, while some will say right tackle Mike McGlinchey just isn’t a good player, that’s just false, yes he’s had troubles with pass protection, but he’s one of the best run blocking right tackles in the NFL, and the 49ers like him so much that they exercised his 5th-year option, which guarantees him $10.808 million in 2022.
I was one of Dante Pettis’ biggest supporters, I thought he’d build off his solid rookie season, but he didn’t, which led to his release last season.
Now the 49ers nailed the Fred Warner pick, as he was finally selected to his first Pro-Bowl, as well as All-Pro honors, while also being listed in PFF’s top 50 players for 2021, along with Kittle, Trent Williams, & Nick Bosa.
The jury is out on Tarvarius Moore, I had envisioned him being the teams free safety in 2022, but after his Achilles injury this offseason, his future is in doubt, he likely comes back on a 1-year deal, where he gets paid more cash, but counts less against the cap, the same type of deals(Fourth Year Qualifying Contract) that Ronald Blair III, & K’Waun Williams signed the last 2 seasons.
The rest of the picks besides Kentavius Street, looked to be good picks, but the 49ers made a mistake in 2020 when they waived/injured D.J. Reed, who they thought would clear waivers, and revert back to the 49ers, only the Seahawks claimed him, and he became a key player in their secondary.
As for Marcell Harris, Jullian Taylor, & Richie James Jr., all 3 played well, unfortunately Taylor tore his ACL late in the 2019 season, and was then released by the 49ers last season, while Harris & James will fight to keep their roster spots for 2021.
2019:
1st-Round(2nd-Overall): DE Nick Bosa
2nd-Round(36th-Overall): WR Deebo Samuel
3rd-Round(67th-Overall): WR Jalen Hurd
4th-Round(110th-Overall): P Mitch Wishnowsky
5th-Round(148th-Overall): WLB Dre Greenlaw
6th-Round(176th-Overall): TE Kaden Smith
6th-Round(183rd-Overall): RT Justin Skule
6th-Round(198th-Overall): CB Tim Harris Jr.
Analysis: Honestly, the 49ers got very lucky when Kyler Murray decided to pass on baseball, and chose to enter the NFL draft, which allowed the 49ers to pick Nick Bosa, who was defensive rookie of the year, and would have had a great 2020 season had it not been for his torn ACL week 2.
Deebo Samuel has played very well, before 2020, he only missed 1 game in his rookie year, what really hurt Deebo was the injury to his foot that he suffered at camp Jimmy last offseason when all offseason activities were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The jury is still out on Jalen Hurd, his rookie year he had a back injury, which cost him 2019, and then in 2020, he tore his ACL, costing him his 2020 season, the hope is for Hurd to come back strong, and win the Slot WR spot, as this may be his last chance.
Whether people liked it or not, the Mitch Wishnowsky pick was a very good pick, he’s been a solid Punter for the 49ers, while the 49ers found a gem in the 5th-round with Dre Greenlaw, who made 2019 free agent signee Kwon Alexander, who was signed because of the Reuben Foster fiasco, expendable.
The 49ers made a similar mistake with Kaden Smith that they did with D.J. Reed last year, back in 2019, the 49ers needed a roster spot to bring a running back up to the active roster, so they waived Smith in order to sign Jeff Wilson Jr., who has been a great signee, but Smith was a promising tight end that the Giants claimed off waivers.
As for Justin Skule, & Tim Harris Jr., neither have shown much, Skule tore his ACL this offseason, while Harris has been on & off of the teams roster, but mostly on the teams practice squad.
2020:
1st-Round(14th-Overall): DT Javon Kinlaw
1st-Round(25th-Overall): WR Brandon Aiyuk
5th-Round(153rd-Overall): LG Colton McKivitz
6th-Round(190th-Overall): TE Charlie Woerner
7th-Round(217th-Overall): WR Jauan Jennings
Analysis: The DeForest Buckner trade came as a shock to pretty much all of the 49ers fan base, which left a huge hole at the 3T(DT) spot, but when the draft came, they filled that hole with Javon Kinlaw, who didn’t have a huge impact, but when you look at 2020, and the pandemic, he didn’t have a full offseason, no minicamp, etc… I expect Kinlaw to be a big part of the teams future.
The 49ers got a great player with Brandon Aiyuk, who really played well his rookie season, leading the 49ers in receiving yards, plus gave us some great wow moments, like when he hurdled over a Eagles defender for a touchdown.
The remaining 3 picks, Colton McKivitz, Charlie Woerner, & Jauan Jennings all have a shot at having a bright future with the team, as McKivitz could end up being the teams long term left guard, while Woerner should develop into a solid blocking tight end, and Jennings has a chance to carve of a spot in the big slot WR spot.
And let’s not forget that the 2020 draft helped to get All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams from the Washington Football Team, for just a 2021 3rd-rounder, and a 2020 5th-rounder.
2021:
1st-Round(3rd-Overall): QB Trey Lance
2nd-Round(48th-Overall): RG Aaron Banks
3rd-Round(88th-Overall): RB Trey Sermon
3rd-Round(102nd-Overall): CB Ambry Thomas
5th-Round(155th-Overall): LT Jaylon Moore
5th-Round(172nd-Overall): CB Deommodore Lenoir
5th-Round(180th-Overall): SS Talanoa Hufanga
6th-Round(194th-Overall): RB Elijah Mitchell
Analysis: Now Trey Lance may sit a year before we fully see him unleashed in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, but when we do see him, he’ll offer something that the 49ers have lacked while under Shanahan, a QB with both a strong arm, and the ability to make plays in the run game.
Aaron Banks should be the starter at right guard day 1, while I truly believe Trey Sermon could be the starter at running back at some point in this season.
For the rest of the players, I envision Ambry Thomas as a starter at outside CB, Jaylon Moore to be either the teams long term left guard, or utility-do-it-all offensive lineman, I also see Deommodore Lenoir as the teams future starting slot CB, and Talanoa Hufanga as the teams future starting strong safety.
And as for Elijah Mitchell, I can see him being the teams change of pace back, and primary return man.
I have to say, that I believe this was the best draft under John Lynch & Kyle Shanahan, because the 49ers may have drafted, if all goes well, 7 starters, plus the teams returner that they desperately need.
So overall, the 49ers, under John Lynch, & Kyle Shanahan, have done a great job in the draft, but they’ve also done a great job with finding undrafted free agents that have either panned out, or look to be part of the teams future, with the likes of Kendrick Bourne & Matt Breida, to Jeff Wilson Jr., Azeez Al-Shaair, Emmanuel Moseley, Ross Dwelley, & Kevin Givens, all who look to have a bright future with the 49ers.
The team, if all goes well with the 2021 class, may have found the following long term starters or role players.
QB: Trey Lance
RB: Trey Sermon
WR: Brandon Aiyuk
WR: Deebo Samuel
Slot WR: Jalen Hurd or Jauan Jennings
TE: George Kittle
LG: Jaylon Moore or Colton McKivitz (the other being the Swing T/G player who can play all over the line)
RG: Aaron Banks
RT: Mike McGlinchey
DE: Nick Bosa
DT: Javon Kinlaw
NT: D.J. Jones
WLB: Dre Greenlaw
MLB: Fred Warner
CB: Ambry Thomas
Slot CB: Deommodore Lenoir
P: Mitch Wishnowsky
Return Man: Elijah Mitchell
Of course as I said the team was able to get their starting LT for the foreseeable future in Trent Williams, who signed a massive 6-year deal, worth $138.06 million this offseason.
The team, if all goes well, are only lacking a few future starters, namely at center, where some hope Daniel Brunskill, who the 49ers signed after the AAF went out of business, the other outside CB spot, as well as the other DE/EDGE opposite Bosa, and after 2022 the team will need to focus on finding a future place kicker to take over for Robbie Gould.
Now the 49ers did add some key players to these spots, who they hope will turn into long term players, mainly EDGE Samson Ebukam, CBs Jason Verrett, & Emmanuel Moseley.
While FB Kyle Juszyzck, C Alex Mack, DE/DT Arik Armstead, and FS Jimmie Ward are signed for the next several years.
Of course the hope is Tarvarius Moore comes back stronger, and takes over the free safety spot sometime in the future, while I can see the team holding onto the likes of K’Waun Williams, & Jaquiski Tartt, if they don’t think Deommodore Lenoir, & Talanoa Hufanga are ready to take over their spots in 2022.
So with all of this said, I thank everyone for reading article, as always you can follow me on Twitter @49erscap, or leave a comment below, and I’ll get back to you.
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