When discussing the biggest NFL Draft busts in San Francisco 49ers history, one of the most obvious examples is the blockbuster trade that set the team up to select quarterback Trey Lance.

Bleacher Report recently compiled a list of the 99 biggest draft busts of all time—across the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL—and two former 49ers made the ranking.


Lance was listed at No. 10 overall.

Selected No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lance was acquired after the 49ers sent a massive package of picks to the Miami Dolphins: first-round selections in 2021, 2022, and 2023, along with a 2022 third-round pick. It was an unprecedented level of draft capital for a player who ultimately made just four starts for San Francisco.

"It was the steepest of prices for a bad quarterback who couldn't stay on the field," Bleacher Report writer Gary Davenport wrote.

After being traded in 2023, Lance spent time with the Dallas Cowboys (2023–2024) and has since continued his career as a backup with the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite the disappointment relative to draft expectations, he remains in the NFL.

Lance entered the draft as an intriguing but raw prospect with limited college experience.


"Lance was an intriguing prospect that year—the small-school star with the big arm and mobility who had played sparingly at the collegiate level—for an FCS school," Davenport noted. "But the 49ers obviously saw something they liked a lot—the Niners mortgaged their future to trade up, sending three first-rounders and a third-rounder to Miami and taking Lance third overall."

A failed selection like Lance can seriously set an organization back. Luckily for the 49ers, they selected Brock Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he has since developed into a franchise quarterback.

While fans can debate other potential 49ers additions to the list, Bleacher Report highlighted another of the team's former first-round picks: defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

Thomas ranked No. 71 overall.

"Thomas is another draft bust who managed to at least carve out a lengthy career in the NFL—he made two starts last year for the Dallas Cowboys in his ninth NFL season," Davenport wrote.


San Francisco selected Thomas with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons with the 49ers but never developed into the disruptive force the team and fans expected from a top-three selection.

Since leaving San Francisco, Thomas has become a journeyman defensive lineman, spending time with the New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys before being traded to the Tennessee Titans in March.

"But in four seasons in the Bay Area, Thomas had just six sacks, and after his 2020 season ended two games in with an ACL tear, that was it for him with the Niners," Davenport added. "Since then, he has played for three more teams, and he has 4.5 fewer sacks for his career than Myles Garrett had in 2025."

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