Kyle Shanahan explains how trading up made things easier for the 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers sat at No. 3 for over a month, and even when they were on the clock, no one was 100 percent sure who they were drafting. We knew it would be a quarterback, but which one? Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch remained secretive throughout the whole process.
Imagine how under wraps things would have been had they stayed at No. 12.
That's why the 49ers traded up. They didn't want to sneak around in the shadows, evaluating quarterbacks and hoping those prospects didn't talk to anyone about the team's intentions.
"At 12, you see two guys on tape, like, 'Man, if any of these guys are there, I for sure would take them,'" Shanahan told Rich Eisen during an interview on the
Rich Eisen Show. "And you know what? There's probably other guys too I would take at [12], so I think there might be five I would take at 12.
"Then we get up to a spot that is high. Now, I know we're for sure going to get [a quarterback]. And before we did that, I knew for sure we wanted one."
That's why the March 26 trade changed everything for the 49ers. Some might criticize the team, saying that maybe Shanahan and Lynch could have given up less to trade to a spot not as high and still gotten their guy. But the team would have needed to be more careful not to tip its hand. Maybe it wouldn't have been able to send Shanahan and Lynch to the second pro days of all three quarterback prospects.
"So, when we got there, you're allowed to go through the whole process of falling in love with the kids, really getting to know them, and not having to tip your hand off to anyone," Shanahan continued. "Because something I don't like to do is I don't like to call a lot of players and stuff because usually when I do, they'll tell their agent or they'll tell someone, and then it gets back to people. And people trade right in front of you when you're one pick away, and you lose people. It's happened to me a number of times, and I've seen that happen just in my life a bunch. That's always your biggest fear.
"So, I'm not going to tell anybody anything, and once we got to three, though, it didn't matter. I could call these guys. They could tell whoever they wanted (that) I talked to them. And that's what allowed me to feel so good about it.
"When you're going off the tape, it's only half of it. It allows you to believe in what they can do and stuff, but until you really get to know that guy and the whole makeup of a person -- quarterback is a different position, and it is so hard. And it's not just about the ability. You have to have an unbelievable amount of ability that isn't just in height, weight, and speed. It also isn't just an IQ. It's in playing the game really fast in a pocket, having to decipher through things, being able to change your vision up, and all that stuff, and being able to handle the pressure of, no matter how good you are, there's going to be a lot of times that everyone tells you how bad you are. And how can you handle that? Will that make you better or worse?
"That's why — look at all the quarterbacks that have been drafted over history — it's a crapshoot. No one totally knows. Everyone's got some pretty good ideas, but you can't just go off the tape. You've got to take the whole accumulation of everything, and that's not just an easy answer or a quick thing to do."
Related News
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
Daniel Jeremiah weighs in on 49ers potentially trading up in the draft
Today, NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah spoke to the media during a nearly two-hour conference call, fielding questions about the 2024 NFL Draft. One question surrounded the possibility of the San Francisco 49ers trading up in the first round to increase their chances of landing an impact player.
Depending on the 49ers' priorities, Jeremiah only believes a significant move is necessary if the team tries to target a couple of defensive positions.
"I mean, they've got a nice haul of picks here, so if they want to move up, they absolutely have the ammunition to do so," Jeremiah stated. "I just think when you look at the needs that they have and some of the different areas that they could go, if you're thinking about corners and edge rushers, maybe you miss
John Lynch on new draft dynamic, 49ers' chances of trading from No. 31
As customary, NFL teams engage in preliminary discussions about potential draft trades during owner meetings. The San Francisco 49ers currently hold the No. 31 spot in the first round but appear receptive to moving either up or down. The 2024 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night.
General manager John Lynch addressed reporters on Monday and acknowledged the wide range of possibilities. However, he noted that any potential discussions about trading spots with other teams will likely intensify later in the week.
"It's going to be an interesting year," Lynch stated. "I think it's an interesting draft class. I was just looking at my notes and one interesting thing to me, dynamic, and the way of the world right now, we put a grade on players in the fall if we think
Breaking down the 49ers drafts under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan
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
Brock Purdy hopes Kyle Shanahan makes addition to 49ers playbook
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,
