What This Draft Told Us About Lynch and Shanahan

Trade the #2 overall pick?

Nah.

Very interesting perspective. We will definitely see how true this perspective maybe. As our secondary for example gets better when you have a better pass rush.

Originally posted by DownSouth49er:

If we take the "big picture" view of this draft, it appears that Lynch and Co. have a much higher regard for this roster than the media and others around the league. I came to this conclusion by looking at who was selected—and, more importantly--who was not selected. In my view, it would have been in the team's best interests to accrue as many draft picks as possible via a trade at the #2 spot, while also maintaining a position in the 5-7 range of the first round. Obviously, the brain trust has very high opinion of Bosa and/or there were not sufficient trade proposals for them to have taken that route, so that argument is not worth re-hashing or discussing in this post. I'm taking a different route: I want to discuss whether Lynch and Shanahan are of the view that the team is closer to winning the division and playoff contention than it is selecting in the top half of the draft in the foreseeable future.

In other words, could it be the case that they are overvaluing their recent draft picks?

Besides the first pick, pay close attention to the rest of the draft. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the secondary underwhelmed last year, or to have argued for O-line reinforcements (a unit that I feel is being considerably overlooked as far as their deficiencies, especially the interior). But neither of these areas were addressed in rounds 2,3 or 4. Instead, the WR core got most of the attention, while a back-up/camp body type of offensive lineman was taken late in the 6th round. With the injury histories of M. Smith and Alexander, I also wonder if a true SAM linebacker is on the roster (both are probably more of a WILL linebacker, anyway). All of this is to say that this draft leads me to believe that the decision-makers have an awful lot of confidence in past draft picks to step up and deliver. I'm referring to the likes of A. Witherspoon, D. Reed, A. Colbert, T. Moore, M. Harris, etc…Along with a healthy Jimmy G. returning to the lineup, they appear to have liked what they have already as opposed to what was available in this year's draft.

Man, I really hope that their assessments are correct. I try to be as optimistic as possible, but I have to be objective about this roster, also. What I am afraid of is Lynch not being impartial and allowing the fact that he has basically constructed this team to factor into the evaluation of the players. Whatever the reasoning behind his actions or lack of actions in the draft, the team told us a lot about their opinions of certain players and units.

Time will determine if their trust was warranted.

I don't see the roster as nearly as bad. Don't forget how many key injuries we had, and a secondary without a pass rush is a bad secondary.

Originally posted by VaBeachNiner:
Trade the #2 overall pick?

Nah.

The true value of this draft was in the middle rounds. If, say, Oakland offered anything of a reasonable trade value, the 49ers could have still gotten a quality edge rusher who would not be that big of a drop off from Bosa, in terms of talent. That pick, coupled with one of the Raiders other firsts or a 2nd, would have benefitted this team much better than just having Bosa and the picks that were made. A reliable free safety or guard would do this team wonders, but that would have nearly impossible with only 6 picks to begin the draft.

I simply do not think this roster is as strong as some but, hey, maybe I'm wrong.

Originally posted by 5_Golden_Rings:
I don't see the roster as nearly as bad. Don't forget how many key injuries we had, and a secondary without a pass rush is a bad secondary.

Point taken. Also, don't forget how a sturdy secondary benefits the pass rush, especially with offenses relying more and more on quick releases. Either way, there will be no excuses for an underperforming defense this year. The honeymoon for Saleh is over.

Lynch's comments on our current CBs: "You look at our secondary now. It's not the easiest thing in the world, draft a guy who could just beat out Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Ahkello (Witherspoon), Tarvarius Moore. Those aren't easy things."

Shanahan's comments about our pass rush after the 2018 draft was over: You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Cassius] Marsh. You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Arik] Armstead. You don't just get guys. If you get them, someone else has got to get cut and we've got a pretty good group.

Fixing our pass rush should help but this year's comments sound too similar to last year's and that didn't work out so well.

Good topic and post. I think if you listen to the presser TODAY very closely, you will affirm your points about how they view the roster and how they view constructing it. It was very telling to me and certainly matches their actions and patterns over three years. I think many share your hope and fears.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Good topic and post. I think if you listen to the presser TODAY very closely, you will affirm your points about how they view the roster and how they view constructing it. It was very telling to me and certainly matches their actions and patterns over three years. I think many share your hope and fears.

I will definitely take a look/listen at it.

Originally posted by DownSouth49er:

I will definitely take a look/listen at it.

Originally posted by Mookster:

Lynch's comments on our current CBs: "You look at our secondary now. It's not the easiest thing in the world, draft a guy who could just beat out Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Ahkello (Witherspoon), Tarvarius Moore. Those aren't easy things."

Shanahan's comments about our pass rush after the 2018 draft was over: You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Cassius] Marsh. You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Arik] Armstead. You don't just get guys. If you get them, someone else has got to get cut and we've got a pretty good group.

Fixing our pass rush should help but this year's comments sound too similar to last year's and that didn't work out so well.

I agree but I think there was a sense last year that other than Chubb, no one was going to save the pass rush. And this year, there weren't any DBs that would substantially help. It probably is foretelling as at where we spend draft and FA assets next year though.

People say things like "this draft is deep" or "the strength of this year's draft is in the middle rounds" every single year.

There are only two types of differences between drafts from one year to the next: 1) There are sometimes more truly elite prospects in one given year vs another, it only takes a few elite athletes to make this difference; and 2) Sometimes one position group is deeper from one year to the next because there are 2-4 elite guys at the top.

For example, the 1983 QB draft class vs the 2013 QB class.

In the aggregate, every draft is going to produce the same number of players that occupy roster spots within some kind standard deviation.

This team needed a pass rush more than any other aspect of the game. There happened to be an elite prospect at the top of draft. Next to QB, an elite pass rusher is the most is the most in demand player in the NFL. This was not a time to trade down.

Originally posted by Mookster:
Lynch's comments on our current CBs: "You look at our secondary now. It's not the easiest thing in the world, draft a guy who could just beat out Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Ahkello (Witherspoon), Tarvarius Moore. Those aren't easy things."

Shanahan's comments about our pass rush after the 2018 draft was over: You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Cassius] Marsh. You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Arik] Armstead. You don't just get guys. If you get them, someone else has got to get cut and we've got a pretty good group.

Fixing our pass rush should help but this year's comments sound too similar to last year's and that didn't work out so well.

Originally posted by Mookster:

Lynch's comments on our current CBs: "You look at our secondary now. It's not the easiest thing in the world, draft a guy who could just beat out Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Ahkello (Witherspoon), Tarvarius Moore. Those aren't easy things."

Shanahan's comments about our pass rush after the 2018 draft was over: You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Cassius] Marsh. You've got to be pretty good to beat out [DL Arik] Armstead. You don't just get guys. If you get them, someone else has got to get cut and we've got a pretty good group.

Fixing our pass rush should help but this year's comments sound too similar to last year's and that didn't work out so well.

Last year the team signed 0 pass rushers and drafted 0 pass rushers despite the need. This year, the team signed a corner and at least drafted one. So they didn't do much more but they did do more. I still won't be shocked if someone's traded. If healthy, the trio of Sherman-Verrett-Williams is extremely good. Who knows, if Moore improved enough to beat someone out, it could be even better.

I think we have a massive surplus of players at various positions that could allow us to wheel and deal guys before final cuts. DL, RB, WR, CB and S have a lot of bodies, but only so many make the team. Health will be key of course too.

They have no clue how to draft