NFL draft: How 49ers have fared at 3rd-round spots in 2023
The 49ers managed to come away with 11 picks in the 2023 draft despite a couple of high-profile trades that saw them deal most of their top-100 draft capital.
San Francisco isn’t scheduled to pick until the No. 99 spot this year, at which point they choose three times in four selections with Nos. 99, 101 and 102 sitting atop their war chest.
History hasn’t been particularly kind to the 49ers when they’ve picked at those three spots since the merger. They’ve used the 99th, 101st and 102nd picks seven times since 1970 and those players combined to make just one Pro Bowl, and only two played more than three years with San Francisco.
While it’s not necessarily easy to find quality talent at those spots in the draft, it definitely exists and the 49ers’ ability to keep their Super Bowl window open long-term may depend on their ability to find a starter or two with their late Day 2 picks this year.
Let’s take a look at the selections for San Francisco since the merger at the 99th, 101st and 102nd picks:
1999, Pick 99 | DB Anthony Parker, Weber State
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Parker didn’t see any action as a rookie, but played all 16 games during his second season. He racked up 26 tackles, three tackles for loss and five pass breakups. The following year he played just five games in what would be his final NFL season.
1971, Pick 101 | DB Tony Harris, Toledo
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The Toledo alum played in four games during his rookie year and never played another down in the NFL.
1986, Pick 101 | OL Steve Wallace, Auburn
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Wallace put together a really nice career as the 101st pick. He played 12 seasons as a pro, including 11 with the 49ers where he played both tackle spots. He helped the team win three Super Bowls and in 1992 earned Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro nods. Wallace during his tenure in San Francisco started 127 of the 166 games he played. He missed only nine games in his 11 seasons with the 49ers. If they can find another player at 101 this year who has that type of career it’d be a home run selection.
1986, Pick 102 | DE Kevin Fagan, Miami
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The 49ers did a nice job in 1986 finding Wallace and Fagan with back-to-back picks. While Fagan didn’t have the career Wallace did, he still played for seven years and posted 25.5 sacks while securing a pair of Super Bowl rings in that stretch. His best years were in 1989 and 1990 when he notched 16.5 total sacks, including a career-high 9.5 in the 1990 campaign. This is another career the 49ers would love to get from their 102nd pick this year.
1988, Pick 102 | P Barry Helton, Colorado
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Helton didn’t work out quite as well as the team might’ve hoped when they used the 102nd selection on him. He punted for the 49ers for just three years with just shy of 25 percent of his kicks pinning teams inside the 20. Helton was out of the league after the 1991 season where he played three games for the Rams.
2002, Pick 102 | K Jeff Chandler, Florida
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A kicker going with the 102nd pick needs to be an extremely reliable player. Chandler was not that in two years for San Francisco. During that stretch he played in only eight games and made just 73.7 percent of his kicks. He was nails inside of 40 yards, hitting all 10 of his kicks from there. 40 yards and beyond was a different story. Chandler hit only four of his nine tries from there and was out of the league following the 2004 campaign.
2021, Pick 102 | CB Ambry Thomas, Michigan
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The jury is still out on Thomas, who came on strong at the end of the 2021 season to help the 49ers reach the NFC championship game. There was some hope he’d continue that success into 2022, but Thomas was mostly a non-factor on defense during his second season. After playing 333 defensive snaps as a rookie, that number plummeted to 41 last year. He was still a regular special teams contributor though, and the team will likely give him another chance to carve out a starting role in 2023.
