A 'boring' no-frills NFL Draft would be to the 49ers' advantage

It isn't necessarily a bad thing Thursday night if the 49ers end up taking someone only serious draft geeks have heard of at No. 31 of the NFL Draft or trading out of the first round altogether and doing their serious work on Friday and Saturday. Taking the big swing hasn't been a strength since coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived in 2017, with some of their biggest roster additions coming from selections that brought blank stares. The real drama will involve wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, a former first-round pick himself who may or may not have priced himself out of the 49ers' immediate future. The 49ers were faced with a similar dilemma once before in 2020, and they made the decision to trade defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to Indianapolis and then draft his replacement in Javon Kinlaw.