Quick Hit: On the 49ers Draft
A quick reaction to the 49ers haul on draft weekend
Last week, I posted my 49ers Draft Wishlist. I encourage you to read the whole thing but here was the summary:
So, that means the team should prioritize, likely in order depending on who is available:
Edge Rusher, Interior Offensive Line, Tackle, Safety, Cornerback, Wide Receiver. That’s six positions with nine picks, so there’s some flexibility here.
Let’s go get some 49ers.
But before I get into the players the 49ers picked (and this does include the high priority free agents (UnDrafted Free Agents = UDFA)) I want to talk about what I really liked about what the 49ers did during the draft.
It’s actually what they didn’t do. They didn’t trade up for a given guy, which historically has been the trademark of the Shanahan/Lynch era. The draft is a crapshoot, and all the data suggests that while there are a handful of “can’t miss” guys (who still, it should be noted, can miss), very quickly it’s all a gamble about how good a player can be. Very often, Kyle Shanahan has decided he needs to have CJ Beathard, Dante Pettis, Joe Williams and so forth - and trades draft capital to get up to get his guy. Sure, some of those trades have yielded Brandon Aiyuk and others, but it’s way too much of a risk to gamble away draft capital on average. It’s a numbers game - get as many talented players in the building, and sort it out from there.
The 49ers didn’t do that this year. In fact, they didn’t make a single trade, taking nine players in the draft positions they started with. That’s a LOT of restraint for this team and I think it ended up serving them well.
So, let’s look back at my wish list, and then take a look at who they ended up with:
2nd round (61st overall): Drake Jackson, Edge, USC
3rd round (93rd overall): Ty Davis-Price, RB, LSU
3rd round comp (105th overall): Danny Gray, WR, SMU
4th round (134th overall): Spencer Burford, G, UTSA
5th round (172nd overall): Samuel Womack, CB, Toledo
6th round (187th overall): Nick Zakelj, OT, Fordham
6th round comp (220th overall): Kalia Davis, DT, UCF
6th round comp (221st overall): Tariq Castro-Fields, CB, Penn St.
7th round comp (262nd overall): Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa St.
They also signed a number of UDFA, notably WR Tay Martin, Oklahoma State, S Leon O'Neal, Texas A&M, G/C Jason Poe, Mercer, G/C Sam Schlueter, Minnesota and OL Dohnovan West, Arizona State. Of this crew, Martin, O’Neal, Poe and West all had “draftable” grades meaning many pundits expected them to be taken during the draft, with folks like West being projected as early as the fourth round.
That’s huge. I won’t pretend to know these prospects, but the positions the 49ers filled were, in general, exactly what I had pointed out as the weaknesses. With Drake Jackson, I had heard a lot about him as an edge prospects but the thought was that he wouldn’t be there by the time the 49ers were on the clock. I’m sure they thought about trading up, in fact, but they let the draft come to them instead. With WR Danny Gray, I’d heard of him because many folks projected him to the 49ers as exactly the speed receiver that they needed.
And for depth, the team drafted and signed multiple guys who project to guard in the NFL and a few to center as well (given that Alex Mack still hasn’t made his intentions clear.) They got good CB depth - many said that Castro-Fields was one of the best values in the draft where the 49ers got him - both at the slot (Womack) and the boundary corners. Kaila Davis is yet another DL, but looks like a refrigerator and, though he’s recovering from an injury, could help fill the role that the team lost when D.J. Jones signed elsewhere. Zakelj is the lone offensive lineman who potentially does have a future at tackle, so that spot wasn’t really addressed in depth, but they do have a lot of guys who can play across the line. And safety was not really addressed until they signed O’Neal. That’s one position where there are a LOT of available good players still in free agency, including Jacquiski Tartt.
And then, there’s the 3rd round RB, which set 49ers Twitter on fire. From a pure draft nerd perspective, it’s too early to take someone on this team as Kyle Shanahan has shown (like, last year) he can take a 6th round RB and turn him into a dominant RB. And there were many other more versatile RB available here as well. I don’t love the pick on its own.
BUT … I think this all has to do with Deebo Samuel. The RB, Tyrion Davis-Price, is a BRUISER - he’s the guy they will use to run straight ahead and get those tough yards that Deebo ended up taking on late last year. They’re the rushes that matter but also the ones that take their toll on a body. Part of Deebo’s issue, I believe, is his thought that if the 49ers continue to use him like that, his career will be shortened. Taking Davis-Price is a smoke signal to say that when they need those tough yards in 2022, they’ll hand it to Davis-Price, not Deebo. In that light, I’m okay with using a pick there instead of waiting a few rounds. Because even if they could have gotten him in the 5th (most assume they could), using that pick is a show of faith to Deebo and his agent.
At least, that’s how I’m reading it.
One never knows with the draft - handing out grades and whatnot is fun but useless, as a lot of the guys that were praised as great picks this weekend simply won’t work out. Whether that’s because they’re a talented player drafted into a bad situation, or they have off-field issues, or they simply can’t make the transition to the pro game … who knows? It’s a complete gamble, to but its important to address needs. How did they do?
Edge Rusher - Drake Jackson
Interior Offensive Line - Spencer Burford, Jason Poe*, Sam Schlueter*, Dohnovan West*
Tackle - Nick Zakelj
Safety - Leon O’Neal*
Cornerback - Samuel Womack, Tariq Castro-Fields
Wide Receiver - Danny Gray, Tay Martin*
The guys with asterisks were UDFA, not draft picks, but they are draftable players who easily could have been taken on Day 2 or 3. The draft is a volume game, and I think the team really tried to solve things that way. I’m encouraged by their patience and that they do seem to know where their weaknesses are. If Mack does come back (and I’m now thinking he will), they seem to have patched their holes.
The biggest wild card remains Deebo Samuel, who has lost all the leverage he had, whether he knows it or not. I do expect him to sign, but it may take awhile. But the 49ers showed restraint there (if, for example, they’d traded him to the Eagles for what the Titans got for A.J. Brown, I’d be very upset - and it’s not clear the 49ers even got an offer that good).
In general, I think the 49ers played it smart this year. Add in the fact that they essentially used this years first round pick on Trey Lance, and the future is bright.
Let’s go.