SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ The 49ers key decision-makers are less than a week from their annual trip to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis and find themselves in a drastically different position than 12 months ago.
Last February, head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were coming off a 4-12 season after losing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo early in the year to an ACL tear. They went to Indy with the draft's No. 2 overall pick, with a strong likelihood they would land a prominent defensive prospect while the Arizona Cardinals were poised to take quarterback Kyler Murray with the top selection for first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
A lot has happened since then.
The 49ers had a remarkable turnaround season while their class of rookies provided key contributions to a Super Bowl run. They went 13-3 and earned the top seed in the conference before losing the final game to the Kansas City Chiefs. First-round pick Nick Bosa quickly became one of the best defensive ends in football while receiver Deebo Samuel evolved as one of the league's promising young weapons for Shanahan. Both were bright spots throughout the playoffs and in the Super Bowl.
The mandate this year: add another rookie class that helps get over the top and win the franchise's sixth Lombardi Trophy. The 49ers got to know Bosa at last year's combine and had another long visit in Columbus, Ohio, surrounding Ohio State's pro day. Samuel worked for Shanahan and San Francisco's coaching staff on the South Team at the Senior Bowl. Fifth-round choice Dre Greenlaw made arguably the biggest tackle of the regular season and filled in admirably for high-priced free agent linebacker K'won Alexander following his pectoral injury.
The vault up the NFL food chain isn't the only difference facing the 49ers this year as they begin evaluating college prospects. Their draft capital is lacking because of trades for key veterans Dee Ford and Emmanuel Sanders. San Francisco doesn't have any selections in rounds 2, 3 and 4 _ rounds in which they added 10 players (and four projected starters) in the last three drafts.
San Francisco currently has the 31st pick in Round 1, two picks in Round 5, one in Round 6 and two in Round 7.
Simply put, it'll be difficult for Shanahan and Lynch to find many key contributors as collection of draft assets currently stands. But that could change drastically by the time the draft comes around April 23. A lot of work will be done in the meantime, so let's take a look at the options the 49ers will consider before Lynch and Shanahan answers questions from the combine next Tuesday.
