Late last month I went over the 49ers draft picks, free agent signings, & trades they’ve made since 2017, when Kyle Shanahan & John Lynch took over the franchise, so today let’s wrap that up, with taking a look at how they’ve done as a whole for 2021, and beyond.
First up is how they’ve done with their draft picks.
It’s clear the 49ers whiffed on the 2017 draft, with Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, Ahekllo Witherspoon, C.J. Beathard, Joe Williams, Trent Taylor, Pita Taumoepenu, & Adrian Colbert no longer on the 49ers roster, with just 5th-rounder George Kittle, & 6th-rounder D.J. Jones still around.
Now Kittle has developed into a clear top 2 tight end, depending on who you ask, while Jones has become a very reliable nose tackle, someone the team should consider keeping on a long term deal following the 2021 season.
In 2018 they did a better job, in my opinion at least, landing a solid to elite run blocking right tackle in Mike McGlinchey, plus finding All-Pro middle linebacker Fred Warner in the 3rd-round, but they had their misses, most notably wide receiver Dante Pettis.
The 49ers drafted a few good players, notably D.J. Reed, but they waived/injured him last year in hopes of him passing waivers, and being placed on the 49ers NFI list, but instead the Seahawks claimed him, and he had a very good 2020 for them, a mistake that we hope this regime doesn’t make again.
Obviously another mistake was drafting an injured Kentavius Street in the 4th-round, but it was a low risk-high reward kind of pick, as the 4th-round isn’t the worst place to take an injured player, but he just hasn’t been able to carve out a spot in the 49ers defensive line rotation.
When we look at 2019, all 49ers fans should be thankful that Kyler Murray declared for the NFL draft after Kliff Kingsbury became the Arizona Cardinals head coach, because if not, they likely would have taken Nick Bosa, but luckily it didn’t happen, as the 49ers got one of the best EDGE rushers to come out in recent years, and a top 50 player in the NFL, regardless of position.
The 49ers also did well with their 2nd-round & 5th-round picks, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, & weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, both have shown up, while Samuel had a down year 2, I’m giving him, & everyone on the 2020 team a slide, as the pandemic made it impossible for any players to be together.
Proof being that at Camp Jimmy, Deebo broke his foot, which resulted in him being on injured reserve to begin the season, and he did play a handful of games, just not enough, which seemed like the theme of the 2020 49ers.
While Greenlaw has shown to be a great running mate with Fred Warner at linebacker, so they definitely nailed both picks in my opinion, as I expect Deebo to bounce back, now that he’s 100%.
The biggest question mark will be Jalen Hurd, will he step up, stay healthy, and earn one of the wide receiver spots on the 48-man active gameday roster each week, if so, the 49ers will now have 3 reliable wide receivers.
2020 was an odd year, not just on the field, but before the season got here, the deal that sent DeForest Buckner to the Colts netted the 49ers the 13th pick, which was sent to the Bucs for the 14th pick, which turned into Javon Kinlaw, and a 4th-rounder, which they used to trade up from 31 to get Brandon Aiyuk.
It’s way to early to say what these two will ultimately be, but both have high ceilings, again, just like with everyone on the 2020 roster, the rookies had little to no offseason workout program, that’s why a guy like 7th-rounder Jauan Jennings, who looked good in this years OTAs, just had no shot at a roster spot last year.
This is also the same reason as to why we didn’t much of Colton McKivitz, and why Charlie Woerner didn’t look like a great blocker, which he prides himself on.
And for 2021, which I think is this regimes best draft, could potentially net them 7 long term starters, most notably quarterback Trey Lance, right guard Aaron Banks, & running back Trey Sermon.
I truly believe that the 49ers, under Lynch & Shanahan, learned from their mistakes, not taking players with off the field issues, or injured players, which has led to them adding a lot of talent to this deep team.
As for their free agent, & trades made, this all began with 2017 when they signed more free agents in one offseason than Trent Baalke did his entire tenure.
They made some great signings over the past 5 offseason’s, getting Kyle Juszyzck, K’Waun Williams, Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Robbie Gould, Alex Mack, & Samson Ebukam, while also adding some key guys via trade, most notable Trent Williams & Laken Tomlinson.
The team has also made it priority to take care of their own, and extend those deserving, whether it’s George Kittle, Jimmie Ward, or Arik Armstead, to retaining big names like Kyle Juszyzck & Trent Williams.
So, when I look at what the 49ers have done in both the draft, along with free agent signings, & trades, they really have built a deep roster, and if all goes well, they have either drafted, signed, or traded for a solid number of current and long term starters.
In the draft, if all goes well, they’ve found potential long term starters either being drafted or signed undrafted free agents.
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
RG Aaron Banks
RT Mike McGlinchey
DE Nick Bosa
DT Javon Kinlaw
NT D.J. Jones
WLB Dre Greenlaw
MLB Fred Warner
CB Emmanuel Moseley
CB Ambry Thomas
Slot CB Deommodore Lenoir
SS Talanoa Hufanga
P Mitch Wishnowsky
As for their free agents, either re-signed, or brought from the outside, & trades, the teams also added a good number of players who figure to be here for the foreseeable future.
FB Kyle Juszyzck
C Alex Mack
LT Trent Williams
DE/DT Arik Armstead
DE Samson Ebukam
So, I believe the 49ers, under Lynch & Shanahan, have built a roster that will contend for years to come.
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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