John Lynch - 49ers GM

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by DaleGribble:
Promoting within would just be more of the same need to go outside of the organization.

Not necessarily. I don't think the issue is the personnel guys. It's Kyle is deciding who he wants the first two days. Look at the success on day 3 when the personnel guys get involved.

Would any of the internal candidates be willing to tell him no or would it stay status quo?

Would the process change in any meaningful way that seems to be part of the problem aswell.

Originally posted by DaleGribble:
Would any of the internal candidates be willing to tell him no or would it stay status quo?

Would the process change in any meaningful way that seems to be part of the problem aswell.

I can't imagine they'd want to take the job unless they got full autonomy on personnel.

Again I don't think the process is as much of the problem as the guy deciding what spots he wants to address. Theres just no way our analytics dept and scouts had Black as the pick. I don't think they had Sermon or Davis-Pryce there either. I think Kyle falls in love with guys and decides to take them then sees them and loses interest. There is no other explanation on spending more day 2 draft capital on rbs than on OL or dbs when the McCaffrey trade is factored in.

John getting flamed everywhere right now, jeez. If they have a down year, not sure how he's getting out of it.

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by JMC52:

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by JMC52:

Originally posted by Chance:
I low-key like this draft. Lots of clay to mold, but that's the kind of potential that excites me in a draft.

Nice having clay to mold, sucks passing on nice pottery

lolwut?

Black, Height, Stribling, and Halton are poised to take on big roles right away (finished pottery) These guys are older and do things well that typically keeps rookies off the field (like blocking).

The rest of the picks are high RAS guys who are raw and/or need coaching up (clay).

If you think Black is poised to take on a big role I literally can't believe you're a 49er fan

I do. Due to his excellent blocking, I think he carves out the lead backup role to CMC. I also think his burst, speed, and strength bode well to short yardage plays and zone runs where Coach wants a guy to accelerate through holes. After learning lore about him, I'm bullish on him. Sorry that offends you enough to question my fandom. I should just hate home like everyone else, huh?

Yeah, it isn't a stretch. May be the primary backup. Probably has a shot to be what they hoped Jordan Mason would've developed into. If he produces like that as a rusher, along with bringing the pass protection, people will forget he was drafted at pick 90 (myself included) and then will switch to wanting Kyle to use him more. The only back we had that could eat into CMC's snaps was Eli Mitchell, but he couldn't stay healthy, Hoping Black is good enough to average 8+ rushes a game.

Originally posted by Gemini10:
John getting flamed everywhere right now, jeez. If they have a down year, not sure how he's getting out of it.

Statistically, he should. On paper, not a good draft or use of draft value.

now it still could turn out to be a great draft, no one knows yet. Only time will tell. I don't think most of these guys will play this year but hopefully they make impacts. Odds are about half of them go to PS. Hopefully in year 2 or so, they start making an impact

NFL.com

San Francisco 49ers: D

Picks: 8 | WAA added: 1.231 (Rank 13/32)

• Pick 33: WR De'Zhaun Stribling, Mississippi Rebels
• Pick 70: ED Romello Height, Texas Tech Red Raiders
• Pick 90: HB Kaelon Black, Indiana Hoosiers
• Pick 107: DI Gracen Halton, Oklahoma Sooners
• Pick 127: T Carver Willis, Washington Huskies
• Pick 139: CB Ephesians Prysock, Washington Huskies
• Pick 154: LB Jaden Dugger, Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
• Pick 179: T Enrique Cruz Jr., Kansas Jayhawks

Highest-graded pick (2025): ED Romello Height, Texas Tech Red Raiders (92.5)

Stribling: Stribling is a strong, competitive receiver with natural hands and a physical playstyle that shows up as a blocker, after the catch and at the catch point. While he lacks the agility to consistently create separation, he has sufficient long speed to remain a vertical threat from any alignment.

Height: Height shows pass-rush ability with quickness and technique but must add strength to hold up consistently. His projection depends on maintaining athleticism as he develops physically.

Black: Black brings strong legs, good burst and the kind of effort coaches appreciate in a hard-nosed running style. However, his run game lacks true difference-making creativity, and his third-down usage is very limited.

Halton: Halton is an undersized, versatile defensive lineman who wins with quickness, effort and movement skills. His lack of strength can be an issue, but he fits well in multiple or movement-based fronts.

Willis: Willis is an undersized tackle at 6-foot-5 and 291 pounds but excelled as a run blocker at Washington, earning an 84.8 PFF run-blocking grade. His 32.88-inch arms ranked in the 19th percentile at the position, and he posted a 69.2 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2025, allowing two sacks, two hits and 18 hurries across 319 pass-blocking snaps. While his pass protection remains a work in progress, his run-blocking ability stands out as his defining strength.

Prysock: Prysock's length and speed fit well in man-heavy schemes, but he also showed capability in zone, where he earned a 73.2 PFF coverage grade in 2025. If he reduces penalties, he has a path to a starting role on the perimeter at the next level.

Dugger: Dugger's strongest trait at linebacker is his tackling, as he missed just 11.6% of his career attempts. However, sub-63.0 PFF grades in both coverage and run defense highlight limitations in his overall profile. While his 62.3 PFF special teams grade offers some value, teams may ultimately be drawn more to his athletic traits than his on-field production.

Cruz: Cruz started at left tackle for Syracuse in 2023 before losing the role in 2024 and transitioning to right tackle at Kansas in 2025, where he earned a 72.0 PFF overall grade. While generally consistent, he showed some volatility, including struggles against Texas Tech. His athletic profile stands out, as he tested in the 90th percentile or better among tackles in the 40-yard dash (4.94), 20-yard split (2.88), vertical jump (35 inches) and broad jump (9-foot-8).

for those interested in seeing the RAS (relative athletic score) of this entire draft.

Cruz has an insane score. Dudes a super freak athlete

Originally posted by tankle104:

Originally posted by Gemini10:
John getting flamed everywhere right now, jeez. If they have a down year, not sure how he's getting out of it.

Statistically, he should. On paper, not a good draft or use of draft value.

now it still could turn out to be a great draft, no one knows yet. Only time will tell. I don't think most of these guys will play this year but hopefully they make impacts. Odds are about half of them go to PS. Hopefully in year 2 or so, they start making an impact

You nailed it with your second sentence.

This could very well turn out to be a good draft but from a VALUE and asset management perspective this was the worst draft in a long time. We probably could've traded #33 overall for Brian Thomas Jr. or some other proven player and instead we took a player who 99% would've been available at #90 let alone #58. After 21 hours of listening to trade offers and thinking about it.

It's just mind-boggling and obvious that this FO values picks differently from the rest of the league. And not in a good way.

Originally posted by Fanaticofnfl:

Originally posted by tankle104:

Originally posted by Gemini10:
John getting flamed everywhere right now, jeez. If they have a down year, not sure how he's getting out of it.

Statistically, he should. On paper, not a good draft or use of draft value.

now it still could turn out to be a great draft, no one knows yet. Only time will tell. I don't think most of these guys will play this year but hopefully they make impacts. Odds are about half of them go to PS. Hopefully in year 2 or so, they start making an impact

You nailed it with your second sentence.

This could very well turn out to be a good draft but from a VALUE and asset management perspective this was the worst draft in a long time. We probably could've traded #33 overall for Brian Thomas Jr. or some other proven player and instead we took a player who 99% would've been available at #90 let alone #58. After 21 hours of listening to trade offers and thinking about it.

It's just mind-boggling and obvious that this FO values picks differently from the rest of the league. And not in a good way.

GM said that they gave out 16 "gold helmets" this year and Stribling was one of them, interesting.

let's hope they all turn out to be studs. I really like digger. I think he can develop into something awesome in this scheme

I think what bugs me most about their approach to the draft is that they just don't solve stuff. They went into the draft with major needs at edge, safety, offensive guard and tight end and they leave the draft with all of those same needs.

Height is a nice pickup but if you want to see a team knocking out their issue at edge, look at Dallas as an example. I want them to commit to addressing specific things or simply going best player available. Instead they reach for weird needs and often miss because they are reaching and simply trying to outsmart everyone else while a team like Baltimore makes the smart, conventional picks year in and year out and year in and year out they manage to acquire a bunch of productive players.

Originally posted by Fanaticofnfl:
You nailed it with your second sentence.

This could very well turn out to be a good draft but from a VALUE and asset management perspective this was the worst draft in a long time. We probably could've traded #33 overall for Brian Thomas Jr. or some other proven player and instead we took a player who 99% would've been available at #90 let alone #58. After 21 hours of listening to trade offers and thinking about it.

It's just mind-boggling and obvious that this FO values picks differently from the rest of the league. And not in a good way.

Can you explain how you know Stribling would have been available at our later picks, and how you know how the rest of the league valued him?

Not a single safety lmao 🤣

I think the skepticism is fair but the outrage is nonsense. I would have hit oline earlier and the past few years they have passed on guys I really liked who ended up being good. That said, I refuse to ignore the tremendous results lynch and shanahan have brought us. Over the last decade we have the third most wins (combined regular season and playoffs) in the NFL, most in the NFC. The two ahead of us just happen to have brady and mahomes. Random Joe's on the Internet calling for them to be fired is played out, no wonder they call us the forty whiners.

Originally posted by tankle104:

Here are the relative athletic scores of all eight 49ers draftees in one spot. A ton of GREEN. In a world of subjective takes/mock drafts, SF showed a clear focus on objective measurements.

This has been a 49ers' theme for about 3 drafts now. Perhaps not a coincidence results… pic.twitter.com/qyV9tlRPeQ

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) April 25, 2026

for those interested in seeing the RAS (relative athletic score) of this entire draft.

Cruz has an insane score. Dudes a super freak athlete

Agree with David Lombardi, getting super athletic players and being able to coach them up is a big plus if you have superior coaching talent. Now you can draft in day three year in and year out (becuase you made the playoffs) and still not lose ground to those teams having multiple picks in day one.

Originally posted by jdzimme3:
I think the skepticism is fair but the outrage is nonsense. I would have hit oline earlier and the past few years they have passed on guys I really liked who ended up being good. That said, I refuse to ignore the tremendous results lynch and shanahan have brought us. Over the last decade we have the third most wins (combined regular season and playoffs) in the NFL, most in the NFC. The two ahead of us just happen to have brady and mahomes. Random Joe's on the Internet calling for them to be fired is played out, no wonder they call us the forty whiners.

Ask yourself how many of the picks in the last 4 years have contributed to that W/L record? They are living off Bosa, Warner, Kittle, CMC and TW.