SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ The NFL draft is about balancing decisions. How badly does this position need an upgrade? Is that prospect so much better than others that he's worth taking or should we trade down for more picks? Do we have to address this position now or can it wait until next offseason?
Those are the types of questions all 32 front offices wrestled with last week while confined in their homes, or a mega yacht, in Jerry Jones' case, for the three-day event.
The 49ers appeared to bring in answers for their most pressing needs despite limited resources. They had no picks in rounds 2, 3, and 4, and just $13 million in cap space. They had a void to fill in place of departed star DeForest Buckner, so they used the No. 13 pick they received from the Colts in the Buckner trade to move down one spot and take South Carolina's Javon Kinlaw.
They needed another play-making receiver in light of losing Emmanuel Sanders to the Saints in free agency, so they moved up six picks in Round 1 to add Brandon Aiyuk from Arizona State.
And with Joe Staley before the draft letting the team know, in secret, he was retiring, general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan executed a trade for Washington left tackle Trent Williams for a 2021 third-rounder and a fifth-round pick this year, adding a seven-time Pro Bowler who worked with Shanahan previously.
On those fronts, the 49ers appeared to do well maintaining their talented roster and should be in the mix atop the NFC again.
But questions remain about the long-term viability of others areas that will garner plenty of thought from Lynch and Shanahan moving forward as they try to build a contender for seasons beyond 2020.
