NFL draft grades are always fun immediately after the draft, but a more accurate depiction of how a team did in a given draft can’t come until those players have had multiple NFL seasons under their belts.
49ers general manager John Lynch had his first draft in 2017, which means we have three seasons worth of games to use in assessing that group of 10 players.
At the time it looked like Lynch and the front office launched one out of the park. Now, with the benefit of seeing these players in the NFL, it’s much less positive. We went back through and re-graded all 10 picks.
Round 1, Pick 3 | DL Solomon Thomas
Thomas was supposed to be a versatile, high-motor defensive lineman who could be a threat off the edge. Trading back one spot to select him was supposed to be a robbery. Instead, Thomas has struggled through his first three seasons and hasn’t been reliable enough to see consistent snaps. He has just 6.0 sacks in 48 games, and probably won’t get his fifth-year option picked up. This was a pretty big swing and miss for John Lynch on his first ever pick, and with players like Jamal Adams, Christian McCaffrey, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson all thriving, it’s hard to give a lot of leeway on this one.
Grade: F
Round 1, Pick 31 | LB Reuben Foster
The 49ers traded up back into the first round to snag the stand out Alabama linebacker. Foster looked to be a foundational piece of the defense with 72 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and a pass breakup in 10 games as a rookie. Issues including domestic violence that began in his first offseason carried over into his second year when he was arrested at the team hotel in Tampa Bay before their Week 12 game against the Buccaneers. He was cut after playing only 16 games with the club.
Grade: F
Round 3, Pick 66 | CB Ahkello Witherspoon
Witherspoon has fluctuated between a home run pick and a wasted selection. He’s flashed All-Pro caliber talent in portions of each of his three seasons, but his strong start to 2019 was derailed by a foot injury. He never fully recovered and was benched during the team’s Week 17 matchup with the Seahawks, and again in the first playoff game before losing his starting job. Witherspoon still has a chance to salvage his grade, but the end of his third year wasn’t promising.
Grade: C
Round 3, Pick 104 | QB CJ Beathard
When the 49ers took Beathard, their quarterback situation was pretty bleak. Moving up in the third round to take a QB made a little sense when San Francisco did it. The Beathard selection was surprising though. After a less-than-stellar career at Iowa, Beathard took over the 49ers’ starting gig midway through Week 6 of his rookie season. He started the next five games with one win before giving way to Jimmy Garoppolo, who was acquired in a midseason trade. Beathard started the five games after Garoppolo tore his ACL in 2018, didn’t win any of them, and lost the starting job to Nick Mullens. Beathard has a career completion rate of 57.3 percent with 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions to go with a 1-9 record as a starter.
Grade: F
Round 4, Pick 121 | RB Joe Williams
It’s not often head coach Kyle Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner miss on a back. Williams was a huge miss though. He spent his rookie season on Injured Reserve, then got released the following offseason before final roster cuts.
Grade: F-
Round 5, Pick 146 | TE George Kittle
Finding a starter in Round 5 is a huge win. Finding a perennial All-Pro in Round 5 is how teams turn into Super Bowl contenders in three quick seasons. Kittle is already the best tight end in the league thanks to his pass-catching prowess and monstrous run blocking ability. His versatility gives the 49ers’ offense a ton of flexibility as well. Kittle in three years 216 receptions for 2,945 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also set a single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end in his second year, and has more receiving yards through three years than any tight end in history.
Grade: A+
Round 5, Pick 177 | WR Trent Taylor
Taylor is in a little bit of the same boat as Witherspoon in that he’s been productive, but not productive often enough to warrant a stellar grade. The key factor in Taylor’s inconsistency is a pair of injuries that derailed each of his last two seasons. He was very good as a rookie with 43 catches for 430 yards and two touchdowns. His second season was less productive after offseason back surgery, and he never saw the field in his third year with a foot injury that required multiple surgeries. Taylor was arguably the 49ers’ best receiver in camp in 2019, but he needs to get and stay healthy.
Grade: C-
Round 6, Pick 198 | DL DJ Jones
It took a couple years for Jones to get rolling, but he became a valuable piece of the 49ers’ defensive line in 2019. He had the best year of his career with 2.0 sacks and two tackles for loss in 11 games – all starts – before suffering a high ankle sprain that put him on IR for the rest of the year. Jones should be ready to go for the start of next season with the nose tackle spot all but secured going into training camp. Finding a quality starter in Round 6 is a big win in the draft.
Grade: B
Round 6, Pick 202 | LB Pita Taumoepenu
Playing in a 4-3 defense was probably not beneficial for Taumoepenu, and he never developed in San Francisco. He played in six games with just 21 defensive snaps and three tackles. The 49ers waived him before training camp in 2019.
Grade: F
Round 7, Pick 229 | S Adrian Colbert
The end of 2017 made this pick look like a steal for Lynch. Colbert started six of the final seven games and played well at free safety. He went into 2018 with the inside track to the starting job, but played poorly in his six starts, then hurt his ankle and went on IR for the rest of the year. He officially lost his starting job in 2019 and was released at final roster cuts. Getting a starting safety in the seventh round would’ve been an easy ‘A’ for San Francisco. Fortunately for them getting a little productivity from a seventh-rounder is still a small victory.
Grade: D-
