Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco 49ers roster is largely viewed as one of the most talent deprived in the league. After all, it is a roster that won just two games last season – both against the Los Angeles Rams. General manager John Lynch
joined KNBR on Wednesday and said that there are some pieces already in place on the roster and that things may not be as dire as they appear.
Two areas that he pointed out were along the offensive and defensive lines. "You have to have talent and so we've got some strides to make on this roster," Lynch said. "I can also tell you that I don't look up at the film that we've been watching and see a 2-14 team. I see some pieces that are hard to build. The great example of that, I think you look at our offensive line and defensive line. I'm actually excited about those groups and those are where I believe football games are won and lost. It starts there.
"So, do we have some places – probably the ultimate position, quarterback – where we need to improve? Absolutely. We're committed to doing that but there are some pieces there that have me excited, have Kyle excited. So there's a long list of things but we're working hard at all of them."
You can
listen to the entire interview on
KNBR.
The 49ers have used their past two top draft picks on defensive lineman. In 2015, they selected
Arik Armstead out of Oregon. In 2016, they selected DeForest Buckner, again, out of Oregon. The 49ers have selected five offensive linemen in the past two drafts, including Joshua Garnett out of Stanford, who was selected with the 28th overall pick.
Lynch believes that Armstead and Buckner will transition well from the 3-4 defense to the 4-3. "I think they fit very well,"
Lynch said Tuesday on 95.7 The Game. "And that's one thing I want to make sure because I really believe it. I think Trent Baalke did a great job of getting guys that really – yes, they were picked for one system, but I think they transition very well to our system. One thing that we've talked about, Kyle and I, from the start is – and it's often a buzz word but we really mean it – we want to play with great urgency, with great aggressiveness. One of the things is I'm excited to see those guys. They were very much in a read and react posture last year. I'm excited to cut them loose."
The 49ers offensive line was one of the worst in the league in 2015. In 2016, the unit showed improvement but still gave up the third-most sacks in the NFL (47). The starters aren't the biggest concern. It's a lack of depth that will need to be addressed during the offseason.
The Falcons were able to bring in veteran free agent center
Alex Mack in free agency last year and that helped elevate Shanahan's offense to another level. The 49ers have Daniel Kilgore, who is solid but has had trouble staying healthy. Kilgore ended the 2016 season on Injured Reserve due to a knee injury that he suffered on December 11 against the New York Jets.
NFL teams are allowed to send three representatives to Justin Fields' second pro day today in Columbus, Ohio. We already knew head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch would represent the San Francisco 49ers. According to NBC Sports Bay Area, the third representative will be quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, who also attended Fields' first workout on March 30 with 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters.
#49ers QBs coach Rich Scangarello joined John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan to watch Justin Fields throw
In the span of a couple of years, general manager John Lynch helped turn around one of the most talent-deprived rosters in the league and build a contender. That roster made it to the Super Bowl during its 2019 campaign. That's pretty impressive, and it was an effort good enough to contribute to Lynch being ranked No. 9 in Gregg Rosenthal's recent general manager power rankings for NFL.com.
Sure, Lynch and company have made some blunders along the way. There were much better options than selecting defensive lineman Solomon Thomas or linebacker Reuben Foster in the first round of their first draft in 2017. But that same draft also saw San Francisco adding All-Pro tight end
Analyst and writer Michael Detillier, who contributes to several media outlets, joined the BetQL Daily podcast on Thursday and discussed the San Francisco 49ers' upcoming quarterback decision in next week's draft. Detillier recalls the day the team moved up nine spots from No. 12 overall to get into a position to acquire one of the top young talents. He was getting ready to publish his mock draft and needed to make some changes as it was headed to print due to the trade.
While the national narrative quickly linked Mac Jones of Alabama to the 49ers, Detillier heard that general manager John Lynch had his sights set on a different prospect. Whether or not head coach Kyle Shanahan felt the same way is unknown.
"When I went to print was the day of the
Peter King of NBC Sports was the first to report that San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch would be in attendance for the second pro days of both Justin Fields of Ohio State and Trey Lance of North Dakota State.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media confirmed that report this morning.
#OSU QB Justin Fields has his second Pro Day on Wednesday and