The San Francisco 49ers have announced the signing of rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard, who played college football at Iowa. He was selected with the 40th pick in the third round (104 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. The 49ers traded their second pick in the fourth round (109) and first pick in the seventh round (219) to the Minnesota Vikings in order to move back into the end of the third round.
The only remaining 49ers draft pick who is unsigned is first-round pick Solomon Thomas.
Beathard is the grandson of former NFL general manager Bobby Beathard. He was a redshirt freshman in 2013 and didn't see significant playing time until the next year when he appeared in nine games with one start. He was the Hawkeyes' starter in 2015 as a junior and ended up as the team's MVP after completing 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,809 pass yards, 17 touchdowns, and five interceptions. During his senior year, he completed 56.5 percent of his passes for 1,929 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
"I'll give my everything to not let them down," Beathard said following the selection by the 49ers. "They won't regret it."
"C.J. is a very good thrower," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR. "I'd consider him a natural thrower. It's not something he's had to work at a ton. He was born to throw, which gives him an advantage. But the main reason you like him is -- I've never seen a guy hang in the pocket and play as tough as he does. Whether the protection is good or not, whether people are getting open or not, he hangs in there all day, takes hits to the face and just keeps his eyes downfield. It allows him to process things during the game, get the ball to the right spots, be able to read coverages because he can hang in there and keep that poise. When stuff isn't there, he has some athletic ability that he can make some plays after that."
49ers general manager John Lynch also raved about the quarterback's toughness during an interview with Mike Florio on "Pro Football Talk Live."
"I think his best quality – a couple of them – aside from the talent, in tight spaces and in tight windows, he can really rip the ball," Lynch said. "But I think his toughness speaks to me and Kyle. This is a guy that will get hit (and) stand up. And that seems to be a quality all the great ones have.
"And then – kind of fearless. I talked about letting that ball go. There's just no hesitation and that's what the great ones in this league (do). I think they anticipate and they let the ball go and they trust that their guys are going to be and they demand that their guys are going to be where they're supposed to be – when they're supposed to be there. He's got a lot of fire to him.
"He's played in a pro-style offense. Now, at Iowa, they didn't throw it as much as a lot of people so I think that's one reason he wasn't as coveted throughout the league. But I think people that studied him liked a lot of the same qualities that we had. He's a very accurate thrower as well. Those are the qualities that stand out to me."
Thanks to the 2011 CBA, all rookie contracts are now for a length of four years. Only first-round selections come with an option for a fifth year, which does not apply to Beathard. Having set numbers for each spot eliminates the need to negotiate salary and only leaves items like bonus payment terms, roster bonus allocations, and other miscellaneous structural items.
The total value of Beathard's four-year contract is believed to be $3,106,288, or very close to that amount, according to Over the Cap. That includes a signing bonus of $706,284 and a 2017 salary cap figure of $641,572.
