Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers added eight new weapons during the three days of the 2021 NFL Draft, which wrapped up on Saturday. They kicked off the first round by adding quarterback
Trey Lance of North Dakota State, before adding four more offensive players and three defensive players, including two running backs, two offensive linemen, and three defensive backs.
Below is a complete list of the 49ers' 2021 selections in the order in which they were drafted. You can click on the names for more information on each new player.
Trey Lance, QB
Round 1, Pick 3
College: North Dakota State
Height: 6-4
Weight: 224
Post-selection conference call
Aaron Banks, G
Round 2, Pick 16
College: Notre Dame
Height: 6-5
Weight: 325
Post-selection conference call
Trey Sermon, RB
Round 3, Pick 25
College: Ohio State
Height: 6-0
Weight: 215
Post-selection conference call
Ambry Thomas, CB
Round 3, Pick 39
College: Michigan
Height: 5-12
Weight: 191
Post-selection conference call
Jaylon Moore, OT
Round 5, Pick 11
College: Western Michigan
Height: 6-4
Weight: 311
Post-selection conference call
Deommodore Lenoir, CB
Round 5, Pick 28
College: Oregon
Height: 5-10
Weight: 199
Talanoa Hufanga, S
Round 5, Pick 36
College: USC
Height: 6-0
Weight: 199
Eli Mitchell, RB
Round 6, Pick 10
College: Louisiana
Height: 5-10
Weight: 201
Now, the 49ers will get to work on signing the members of the new draft class. Thanks to the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which was ratified last year and extends through the 2030 season, all rookie contracts are for a length of four years.
First-round selections come with an option for a fifth year, which, for the 49ers, includes Lance. If they choose to do so, NFL teams are required to activate the player's fifth-year option before the fourth and final year of the rookie deal.
Having set numbers for each spot eliminates the need to negotiate salaries and only leaves items like bonus payment terms, roster bonus allocations, and other miscellaneous structural items. It's those extra items that can stall an agreement.
The 49ers will have an estimated rookie pool of
$12,141,136 in 2021, according to
OverTheCap.com's estimations.
Below are the estimated four-year contract values, signing bonuses, and 2021 salary cap figures for each of the 49ers' eight draft picks, again, per
OverTheCap.com.
Trey Lance, QB
Total contract value: $34,105,350
Signing bonus: $22,163,892
2021 salary-cap figure: $6,200,973
Aaron Banks, G
Total contract value: $7,073,616
Signing bonus: $2,504,448
2021 salary-cap figure: $1,286,112
Trey Sermon, RB
Total contract value: $4,872,934
Signing bonus: $903,952
2021 salary-cap figure: $885,988
Ambry Thomas, CB
Total contract value: $4,785,850
Signing bonus: $840,616
2021 salary-cap figure: $870,154
Jaylon Moore, OT
Total contract value: $3,803,036
Signing bonus: $323,036
2021 salary-cap figure: $740,759
Deommodore Lenoir, CB
Total contract value: $3,764,868
Signing bonus: $284,868
2021 salary-cap figure: $731,217
Talanoa Hufanga, S
Total contract value: $3,720,156
Signing bonus: $240,156
2021 salary-cap figure: $720,039
Eli Mitchell, RB
Total contract value: $3,663,576
Signing bonus: $183,576
2021 salary-cap figure: $705,894
NFL Network analyst Cynthia Frelund predicted which rookie running backs are most likely to thrive during the 2021 season.
"Using contextualized play-calling data from each team and factoring in every rookie RB's skill set, my model believes the following five newbies will provide the biggest returns in 2021," wrote Frelund.
On the list were Najee Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Javonte Williams of the Denver Broncos, Travis Etienne of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Michael Carter of the New York Jets. Sandwiched in the list at No. 3 was San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Trey Sermon.
"Next Gen Stats reveal regression on San Francisco's offensive line this past season, at least in the ground game," wrote Frelund. "The 49ers averaged 4.1
Injuries are unavoidable in the NFL. No team is going to make it through a now-17-game season without injuries. That's why having good depth is so important. However, there remain some players who, if they leave the lineup, could dramatically impact a team's production.
We saw a lot of that with the San Francisco 49ers last season. Injuries plagued the roster as the team limped its way through a six-win season. You knew the loss of pass rusher Nick Bosa to a torn ACL in Week 2 would impact the season. On the offensive side of the football, the team lost Jimmy Garoppolo, and the quarterback went on to miss 10 of the last 14 games.
The miserable injury luck continued this week. San Francisco lost two players to significant injuries during Monday's practice.
The San Francisco 49ers won just six games last year after a Super Bowl appearance the season before. Most have blamed a league-high number of injuries for the team's regression and expect much more from Kyle Shanahan's squad in 2021 — assuming it can stay relatively healthy.
The NFC West is highly competitive and could still be the best division in football. While San Francisco is not expected to repeat at the bottom of the divisional standings, it will be a battle to finish at the top. However, it sounds like oddsmakers have confidence in the 49ers.
Bovada released the odds for the best overall record in the NFL. It's no surprise to see last season's Super Bowl participants at the top of the list. The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the
The San Francisco 49ers have their share of doubters as the team heads into the 2021 season. After all, it is coming off an injury-plagued six-win campaign. But it also wasn't that long ago that the team was fighting for a championship, and much of that roster remains intact.
George Kittle sounds confident that the Niners can prove 2020, not 2019, was the outlier. The All-Pro tight end joined Michael Silver and his daughter, Natalie, on the latest Pass It Down podcast. The elder Silver has been pushing San Francisco as the team to watch in the NFC.
"I believe that if everything goes well for you guys, all things being equal because every team has injuries, I think you guys are the best team, in my opinion, heading into the season," Silver told
