The San Francisco 49ers finished the 2017 season as one of the hottest teams in the NFL. "I don't think there's a team in the NFL that would want to see us right now in the playoffs," said 49ers tackle Joe Staley at the end of the season.
Before the 2017 season, no NFL team that had started 0-9 finished with more than three wins. The 49ers finished with six and were the only undefeated team in December. They won five straight games to end the season, and the final three victories came against playoff-bound teams.
Regardless of how the season ended, the reality is that San Francisco was 6-10 and has a lot of room for improvement. One man who is well aware of that is 49ers general manager John Lynch, who joined KNBR on Wednesday morning to discuss the team's offseason plan.
"We're going to go in with a new team," Lynch said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "That's the reality of this league, and we've got a lot of improvements to make. We were a 6-10 team. I think we were 1-5 in our division. That's not good enough. Your first goal is always to win your division, so there's a lot to improve upon. We're enjoying the time off but eager in getting back to work."
Much of that improvement will come through the draft in April. The 49ers addressed the defense with their first three picks in last year's draft. Lynch understands that games are won and lost in the trenches and with Jimmy Garoppolo about to earn an absurd about of money from the 49ers next season (and possibly beyond), protecting the quarterback has to be a priority.
The 49ers are solid on the outside with tackles Joe Staley and Trent Brown anchoring the offensive line. However, there is room for improvement along the interior. Center Daniel Kilgore and guard Brandon Fusco are scheduled to become free agents. With prospects like guard Quenton Nelson of Notre Dame and center Billy Price of Ohio State available in the draft, Lynch was asked how big a priority it is to improve the interior of the offensive line.
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"The offensive line is always a priority," he responded. "I mean, we talk so much about quarterbacks. Anything to make that go, you've got to be really efficient. What I love is offenses and that's what I loved about Kyle [Shanahan] is that his offenses really dictate. They take the fight to them and beat them to the punch – all the things that Bill Walsh used to say at Stanford.
"We're going to keep working to build a group like that where we can really dictate and dominate the terms of how we play the game on both lines. That's very much a core belief of myself and Kyle, and I think that alignment in our core values is what brought us together and we'll continue to emphasize those things."
Lynch acknowledges that there is a lot more preparation involved in this year's draft – at least as far as the first round goes. Last year, the 49ers were slated to select second overall before a trade with the Chicago Bears moved them down one spot. Lynch and company had a pretty good idea who would be available for that selection.
This year, the 49ers will select ninth or tenth, depending on the result of a tiebreaking coin flip which will take place at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. More things could happen before the 49ers finally get around to making their first draft selection.
As for the coin flip, the 49ers general manager will maintain his winning attitude.
"[Raiders general manager] Reggie McKenzie and I were kind of talking trash last week about our coin flip skills," Lynch said. "We'll see how that goes but is it that big a difference (between nine and ten)? It could be. You obviously want to win it, but we'll let that happen.
"But we're going to be prepared (for the draft). Our staff is going to do a tremendous job."
Lynch remains confident in his college scouting staff, which didn't see too many changes after his hiring a year ago. While Lynch had no front office experience when he joined the 49ers, he surrounded himself experienced personnel.
"We have an extremely talented group of college scouts that work unbelievably hard," Lynch said. "[Vice president of player personnel] Adam Peters does a great job of leading them and [senior personnel executive] Martin Mayhew pitches in. So we've got a really good staff that believes in tireless work and some real thoughtful guys. And I think we've got a great plan and we will be prepared. If we can replicate what we did last year, that's what you need to do in this league."
You can listen to the entire interview with Lynch below.