The 2021 NFL Draft is tomorrow night, and we still don't know who the San Francisco 49ers plan to select at No. 3 overall. There are ideas. Lots of them. Everyone has an opinion, stitched together from a hodge-podge of information and potential clues -- which may or may not be actual clues.
The 49ers are playing it close to the vest.
What we do know is that the selection will most likely be a quarterback. The betting favorites are Mac Jones of Alabama, Trey Lance of North Dakota State, and Justin Fields of Ohio State, in that order.
The decision is expected to be head coach Kyle Shanahan's. Earlier this week, the team reportedly came to a consensus on who to draft after heading into the weekend still going back and forth.
General manager John Lynch spoke with team reporter Keiana Martin on Monday, likely after he and Shanahan spoke with reporters during San Francisco's annual pre-draft press conference. He shared what the 49ers look for in a quarterback, and the qualities that make a good quarterback, all while being careful not to tip his hand.
"I think when you talk about the mix of tangibles and intangibles, first and foremost, you've got to have the requisite talent," Lynch told Martin. "And whatever that may be, whatever your style is, are you talented enough to, as Kyle often refers, do you belong in the club? And that's a tough club to be in — the NFL quarterback.
"Next, I would go to work ethic. That position requires a different level of work ethic. This league, to make it, requires a different level of work ethic, but that position more than any other. I think you'd better be able to be mentally tough because it's not if, it's when you deal with adversity. Again, that position is extremely tough, so you'd better be very skilled at dealing with adversity.
"And then leadership, which to me, I think the great leaders have an ability to make everyone around them better. Do you have that quality? That's kind of my barometer."
That may not offer many (or any) hints into the 49ers' thinking, which was probably intentional. We'll likely have to wait until San Francisco is on the clock tomorrow night to learn who the team's newest quarterback will be.
"There's different things that we look for specific to our scheme and such," Lynch added, "but really, those are the key points that I've heard and felt over the years that make for success at that position."
