Originally posted by Superbowl:
Originally posted by Wolf_Packer_53:
Originally posted by genus49:The problem is the discrepancy in the amount of resources they have thrown at DL & WR in the early rounds of the draft in comparison to the OL.
Originally posted by Superbowl:
Neglecting the OL for years will cost lynch.
They haven't been ignoring it. They just haven't hit on some of their picks.
Mike McGlinchey - top 10 pick
Aaron Banks - early 2nd round pick
Both guys started for us but weren't good enough to get extensions with the team. I'm sure the team would've liked to keep McGlinchey but there were too many other priority signings to make.
We've done pretty well on developmental OTs in the later rounds - Colton McKivitz is the best example but Jaylon Moore got himself a very nice deal with KC and looked pretty good replacing Trent last year here. Even Skule was serviceable.
Burford was a failure but had some potential too.
I think the bigger issue is their ideology. That they can invest in traits and coach them up. Yes we've had some examples of this working but the issue is if you're missing on those early skill players/defenders and pushing down the OL talent your odds of success go down and your team is weaker for it.
2017: (1a) Solomon Thomas, (1b) Reuben Foster
2018: (1) Mike McGlinchey, (2) Dante Pettis
2019: (1) Nick Bosa, (2) Deebo Samuel
2020: (1a) Javon Kinlaw, (1b) Brandon Aiyuk
2021: (1) Trey Lance, (2) Aaron Banks
2022: (2) Drake Jackson
2023: No 1st or 2nd round pick
2024: (1) Ricky Pearsall, (2) Renardo Green
2025: (1) Mykel Williams, (2) Alfred Collins
2026: (2) De'Zhaun Stribling
DL picks in first 2 rounds of Shanalynch era: 6
WR picks in first 2 rounds of Shanalynch era: 5
Other positions picked in first 2 rounds of Shanalynch era: 3
OL picks in first 2 rounds of Shanalynch era: 2
Hits (received 2nd contract from Niners): 3 (1 of which was Aiyuk who is ultimately a miss).
Misses (let go after rookie contract): 8
TBD: 5
We have misfired year after year on DL & WR not to mention the Trey Lance trade set us back tremendously. Purdy is the 49ers savior. If it wasn't for him, I think this regime would be done because any other GM/Coach doesn't survive that big of a miss.
What is mind boggling to me is Shanalynch's philosophy. I understand pass rush is high on the priority list but you are prioritizing players that you keep in a rotation. The OL is a unit that plays every offensive series! They are only subbed out if someone is hurt or you have such a nice lead you put the backups in. Imagine if we had drafted Wirfs instead of Kinlaw & Frazier instead of Pearsall (tbh hindsight 20/20 here because I really wanted Jackson Powers Johnson @ #1):
Trent / McKivitz / Frazier / Puni / Wirfs - Easily top 3 OL, maybe best in league.
Good post wolf.
Easy to look back after the fact and say who was a bust and who wasn't. It seems some fans here forget that Soloman Thomas was considered one of the top D lineman that year because of his versatility. They forget that Reuben Foster was a stud LB in college and many felt he was a steal that late in the round. Thomas turned out to be too much of tweener and Foster had a lot of off field issues as well as health issues so both ended up being busts but the picks at the time were considered good picks.
When they traded up for Trey Lance it was 50/50 or better among fans whether they should have done it or just stayed put and picked Jones. I seem to remember most fans were in favor of Lance because he had more upside. Obviously he didn't work out either but it's not because the Niners didn't know what they were doing. He was going to be a top 10 pick by some team that year ( a bad year for QB talent). Five QBs picked in the first round that year and only one (Lawrence) has been a viable starter. Even he hasn't been nearly as good as he was projected to be. He was being called a generational talent an he hasn't been anything close to that.
