The San Francisco 49ers' 2017 draft has received high marks among analysts. The one consistent blemish on the draft class, according to those analysts, was the selection of Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard at the end of the third round during Day 2. The selection was commonly viewed as a reach.
Lynch and Shanahan have both explained the reasoning behind the selection. Beathard was the one quarterback on their board who Shanahan really wanted and even compared to Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. There was a good chance that he would still be there during the fourth round, which started on Saturday morning. However, the team traded up to select him in the third round so they could rest easy that night knowing that Shanahan got his guy.
Would Beathard, who was selected higher than other available quarterbacks who, among many, graded higher, be there in the fourth round if the 49ers had waited? Peter Schrager of FOX Sports and best known as a host on "Good Morning Football" on NFL Network, shared a tidbit about Beathard on the latest episode of the Taylor Price Talk podcast on Tuesday.
"I can tell you that they weren't the only team that looked at C.J. that high," Schrager said. "In fact, I had a team tell me if he's there in the third round, they'll take him. They ended up trading out of that pick or they didn't have a pick. Something happened (and) they ended up not taking him but that's another one where the mock drafts didn't have C.J. Beathard being mentioned but he went before Nathan Peterman and a bunch of the guys that got all the hype.
"Very well-regarded guy in the locker room. They went 12-0 in the regular season two years ago with him as the quarterback. Look, the Kirk Cousins comment is going to be what follows him for the next five years now because he's a fourth-round pick that goes to Kyle Shanahan out of the Big 10. But I don't know what we're going to get out of him.
"But at least there was a quarterback selected. I feel the fans can at least say, 'Okay, we tried to address it. We got somebody and even if he's just a camp arm – he might just be that at the very least – they made an effort. They got a quarterback on Day 3 (actually got him at the end of Day 2), which I liked."
Schrager went on to say that he doesn't believe that Beathard will start at any point during the upcoming season and doesn't believe that the 49ers view him as their quarterback of the future.
Who might be the 49ers' quarterback of the future? There are more options in next year's draft and one name that Schrager brings up is interesting.
"Everybody's going to say [USC quarterback Sam] Darnold," Schrager said. "Everybody's going to say [UCLA quarterback] Josh Rosen. But I like the kid out of Wyoming. I'm just going to circle this now because he's going to be your Carson Wentz of next year. I think his name is Josh Allen. You might want to Google it. Had an injury this year but everyone I talked to in the NFL says that Darnold, Rosen, and the kid Lamar Jackson will be interesting out of Louisville, and Mason Rudolph out of Oklahoma State. But this is the name that everyone keeps talking about. Josh Allen out of Wyoming.
"I'm not sure why I'm saying him but I don't think the Niners are going to be the worst team in football. I don't think they're going to get a shot at Darnold next year. Josh Rosen I'm curious to see if he even comes out. He might need another year. I think this kid out of Wyoming, Josh Allen – Google him and do the whole thing and watch his tape and follow him during the college football season. I think he's going to be a first-round quarterback and I think he's the next Niners quarterback."