49ers GM John Lynch’s draft picks ranked by round
John Lynch joined the 49ers as their general manager during the 2017 offseason. While a couple of big misses in the NFL draft have marred the front office’s rapid rebuild that had the club in the Super Bowl just three years into Lynch’s tenure.
Those draft failures were highlighted even more in a year where the 49ers went 6-10 following their Super Bowl loss.
With more than 40 players due to hit free agency when the new league year opens March 17, this year’s draft will be key in helping the club renew their championship-caliber roster. Lynch will have 10 picks to work with, including at least one in each round, but how well have they drafted in each of the seven rounds?
We sifted through Lynch’s four drafts to rank each round based on all of his selections. Here they are from worst to best:
Round 4
(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
The picks: RB Joe Williams (2017), DL Kentavius Street (2018), P Mitch Wishnowsky (2019) Wishnowsky, the punter, is by a wide margin the most successful of these picks. Williams never played a snap and Street dealt with injuries for most of his three seasons.
Round 7
(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
The picks: S Adrian Colbert (2017), WR Richie James (2018), DL Jullian Taylor (2018), WR Jauan Jennings (2020) This group had a lot of potential, but Colbert was cut after a promising 2017 showing. Taylor's been injured and James hasn't carved out a significant offensive role in three years.
Round 6
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
The picks: LB Pita Taumoepenu (2017), DL DJ Jones (2017), SS Marcell Harris (2018), CB Tim Harris (2019), OT Justin Skule (2019), TE Kaden Smith (2019), TE Charlie Woerner (2020) Jones is a really nice pick who developed into a quality starter for a good San Francisco defense. Harris saw some time as a starter, but he struggled, and Skule's playing time has been limited after being pushed into a starting role his rookie year.
Round 2
(AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
The picks: WR Dante Pettis (2018), WR Deebo Samuel (2019) Pettis never got rolling again after a strong end to his rookie campaign and was released in 2020. Samuel is off to a strong start to his career, but his injury issues last year kept him from building on a great rookie season.
Round 3
(AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
The picks: CB Ahkello Witherspoon (2017), QB CJ Beathard (2017), LB Fred Warner (2018), S Tarvarius Moore (2018), WR Jalen Hurd (2019) Witherspoon was just okay with flashes of All-Pro caliber player mixed in with a lot of subpar play. Moore hasn't cemented a role moving forward, but Warner headlines this group and keeps the third round from being a potential disaster. Hurd staying healthy could help this group a lot too.
Round 1
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The picks: DL Solomon Thomas (2017), LB Reuben Foster (2017), OT Mike McGlinchey (2018), DE Nick Bosa (2019), DL Javon Kinlaw (2020), WR Brandon Aiyuk (2020) Removing the 2017 class makes this a much stronger group. McGlinchey bouncing back in 2021 after a down year in 2020, and Bosa coming back strong from a torn ACL could help buoy the first-round picks. There's an argument to be made for this group above the rest, but Bosa was the easy pick and there's a chance McGlinchey and Kinlaw don't pan out and make this round pretty bad.
Round 5
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The picks: TE George Kittle (2017), WR Trent Taylor (2017), DB DJ Reed (2018), LB Dre Greenlaw (2019), OT Colton McKivitz (2020) Kittle highlights this group, but Greenlaw's selection helped elevate San Francisco's defense following Kwon Alexander's injury in the 2019 season. Taylor was mostly ineffective, Reed was unexpectedly claimed off waiver last year, and McKivitz didn't play much as a rookie. The entirety of this group isn't great, but the Kittle and Greenlaw picks on Day 3 make it Lynch's best round.
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