Optimism is running high for NFL teams as the NFL draft looms at the end of April. The 49ers are hoping the No. 2 pick will net them a player who has a major positive impact in Year 1.
The draft doesn’t always work that way though, and selecting a bust in the first round can be catastrophic for a rebuilding club. San Francisco has had several big swings and misses in the first round throughout their history. They’re hoping to avoid that this year, but we decided to go back through the 49ers’ all-time first-round picks to see who the worst one was.
It was difficult to narrow it down to one, so we decided to submit our full list in chronological order:
1953: Round 1, Pick 1 | Harry Babcock, TE/DE
Babcock was a two-way player out of Georgia who spent most of his time with the 49ers as a tight end. He played 30 games in three years with 16 catches for 181 yards and no touchdowns. He was out of the league after three mostly ineffective seasons. That’s not ideal for the first overall pick.
1997: Round 1, Pick 26 | Jim Druckenmiller, QB
With Steve Young entering his late 30s, the 49ers needed a long-term answer at quarterback. They used their first-round pick on a 6-4, 241-pound quarterback from Virginia Tech. Druckenmiller played just two seasons in the NFL, both for San Francisco. He started one game in which he completed 10-of-28 throws for 102 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He finished his rookie year 21-for-52 with 239 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions, then never threw another pass in the NFL.
1999: Round 1, Pick 24 | Reggie McGrew, DL
McGrew came as a highly-touted prospect out of Florida that San Francisco traded up three spots to select. He didn’t play at all in his rookie season, then played just 10 games in Year 2, and 12 in Year 3. He notched the lone sack of his career in his third season, and was out of San Francisco following that year. McGrew played in Atlanta in 2002, then spent time on the Jacksonville and Washington practice squads before exiting the league. In total the first-round pick played 24 NFL games with 10 tackles and one sack.
2004: Round 1, Pick 31 | Rashaun Woods, WR
Woods checked all the boxes coming out of Oklahoma State. He had huge college production with 4,414 yards and 42 touchdowns on 293 catches across four seasons. He measured out at 6-2, 202 pounds and had a very solid combine. San Francisco lost Terrell Owens after the 2003 campaign and Woods looked prime to replace him. Woods spent one season with the 49ers. He caught seven balls for 160 yards and one touchdown. The team traded him to the Chargers for defensive back Sammy Davis the next offseason.
2008: Round 1, Pick 29 | Kentwan Balmer, DL
Balmer certainly looked the part of a dominant interior lineman at North Carolina. He measured out at 6-5, 308 pounds and put up 33 bench press reps at the combine. His college production and lack of explosiveness at the combine should’ve been red flags though. Balmer posted just 7.0 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in three college seasons, then posted below-average numbers in the 40, 20-yard shuttle, vertical jump and broad jump at the combine. He wound up playing 27 games across two seasons with the 49ers with 19 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, and no sacks.
2012: Round 1, Pick 30 | AJ Jenkins, WR
Jenkins has a case to be the biggest bust in 49ers draft history. San Francisco selected him after struggling to piece together a receiving corps in the 2011 campaign. The Illinois product flamed out in perhaps the most spectacular fashion. He played only three games for the 49ers and earned one target that he didn’t catch. San Francisco traded him to Kansas City the following offseason. It’s hard to do worse with a pick than three games, no catches and one target. That’s what the 49ers got from Jenkins, earning him a spot in the pantheon of all-time first-round busts.
