Dan Skuta visiting with 49ers

The connections to some of the all-time great safeties are strong for 49ers rookie Talanoa Hufanga as he begins his NFL career. Hufanga, who was selected by the 49ers in Round 5 of the 2021 NFL Draft after a standout career as a safety at USC, is currently at 49ers facilities with other members of his draft class as he prepares for rookie minicamp this weekend (Friday-Saturday). He spoke to reporters on Wednesday about his relationship to three legendary safeties in particular in Troy Polamalu, 49ers legend Ronnie Lott, and 49ers general manager John Lynch. Hufanga first spoke about Polamalu, with whom he has a well-documented relationship after the

Scot McCloughan spent two seasons as the San Francisco 49ers general manager, helping build the roster eventually taken over by Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh. Before that, he was the team's VP of personnel. Matt Barrows of The Athletic spoke with McCloughan to get his opinion of his former team's most recent draft class. While his pre-draft grades had Zach Wilson, whom the New York Jets selected at No. 2, rated higher than Trey Lance, the 49ers' pick, McCloughan would have personally selected Lance over Wilson. He wouldn't have, however, traded two future first-round picks to move up to get him. The inexperience at North Dakota State and the level of competition created too many unknowns. But personally, he still liked Lance more than

Jimmy Garoppolo will earn a base salary of $24.1 million in 2021. The plan is to have Trey Lance, whom the San Francisco 49ers drafted No. 3 overall last week, eventually take over for him. Keeping Garoppolo, a savvy veteran who is already well-versed in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, might seem like a no-brainer from a personnel perspective. After all, the 49ers are built to win now. Are the hopes of a championship season something you want to throw on the shoulders of a rookie quarterback? Financially, it is a significant ask of ownership. That is a lot of money to invest in a player who may only be around for one more season. You're basically paying out much of your salary cap for a potential one-year rental. However, it does allow Lance the luxury of starting his NFL

In 2005, the San Francisco 49ers opted to select quarterback Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers. While the former is well-respected across the league and among the fanbase, Rodgers went on to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career. He is the reigning NFL MVP, an award he has now won three times. One has to wonder, what if? Jed York hadn't yet been named the team's CEO. That occurred three years later, with his parents transitioning to the posts of co-chairmen. Still, he remembers the selection well. The talent-deprived 49ers were about to embark on a rebuild and needed someone who could endure the tough days and years ahead. "I think when you get to that question of why Alex over Aaron, we — again, this is not me, but collectively as an organization