49ers’ Shanahan on other teams getting better down the stretch: ‘We will too’

We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room. We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are

The San Francisco 49ers appear to have found their quarterback. It was a bumpy road on the journey to locate him, too. There was the up-and-down tenure of Jimmy Garoppolo, whose relationship with Head Coach Kyle Shanahan seemed dysfunctional, at times. Then there was the short-lived Trey Lance experiment. Garoppolo and Lance are no longer being with the team, and one major reason is the emergence of Brock Purdy as the team's QB. Purdy finished his second season with a trip to the Super Bowl, after having a Pro Bowl season in which he finished with 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also led the league in multiple statistics, including passer rating (113.0) and QBR (72.8). Additionally, Purdy finished fourth in NFL MVP voting. But a year ago, no one knew what to

Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture. Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft. Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score. Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries. On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,