This one is starting to show some cracks.
Every year around draft time we like to look at the ghosts of drafts past with the San Francisco 49ers and reflect on the players allocated from the draft. We luckily have video of each draft thanks to YouTube poster and 49ers fan Marvin49. We’ll be looking at every year up to 2018. Today it’s 2017.
A year ago, this draft was up-and-coming, a refreshing change from the predictable drovel 49ers fans were used to. In 2019, only one pick has made this draft pretty good. I think we all know what that pick was.
After Trent Baalke was shown the door, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan were given six-year contracts and went to work rebuilding the entire 49ers roster.
“Be patient,” was what Lynch would say several times going into the draft and the season. Given what the fans had seen, that wouldn’t be too difficult.
The 49ers picked second, but engineered a fleecing of a deal with the Chicago Bears, letting them move up a single spot to draft quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The 49ers grabbed the guy they were always interested in anyways, Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas. Due to some outdated rules, Thomas got to practice late and didn’t have the season some may have hoped for. His second season also was marred with the personal difficulty of coping with his sister’s suicide. Can his third season be the one where he gets his head right?
The 49ers then traded back into the first round via a deal with the Seattle Seahawks, drafting Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster. Foster was unanimously considered a special player, but an incident at the NFL Combine that got him sent home, as well as other character and injury questions allowed him to slip. Those character concerns continued into 2018, culminating in a domestic violence arrest that force the 49ers’ hand. Foster was released from the team in late November as the organization quite frankly had enough.
From there, the 49ers drafted Ahkello Witherspoon. A cornerback prospect some may have scratched their head over, but Witherspoon came into his own late in the season and has made a roster spot for himself in 2018. Some inconsistent play that same year puts his spot in jeopardy. What happened?
Also in the third round came Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard. Some questioned the pick, but Beathard showed he was more than capable as a backup, displaying some great poise as a rookie and decent pocket awareness. But again, when the season rolled around, Beathard was called upon once again to start and was edged out by third-stringer Nick Mullens. At this point, Beathard may not be on the roster when Week 1 rolls around.
And the rest? Utah running back Joe Williams was gut-pick that should have never been called as he was finally released from the 49ers after another bad 2018 preseason. Fifth round pick, Trent Taylor has been a go-to third down wide receiver for Jimmy Garoppolo and a decent punt returner but in 2018, his back surgery took its toll on him. Adrian Colbert, a seventh round cornerback was thought to be the 49ers’ answer for safety until he got injured early in the 2018 season as well. Most of the players in this draft showed so much potential their rookie year, and all that potential went by the wayside for the 2018 campaign.
That is, of course, if you aren’t talking about tight end George Kittle. A fifth round draft choice that is right now making his case as one of the best tight ends in the league. Kittle almost broke Shannon Sharpe’s record for receiving yards by a tight end in a single game, and broke Rob Gronkowski’s record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a season. Is Kittle the best in the league? That’s up to you, but he’s definitely elite and in the top-three.
Say what you want about this draft. My rebuttal: yeah, but they got Kittle.
As per usual, the DMCA biscuits have this thing on lockdown in some regions, so if you’d like to view the video, make sure to click the link to go to YouTube directly to see it. Or you can go here via this link to see the analysis of the draft.
Pick Breakdown
Round 1 – Pick 2 – Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
Round 1 – Pick 31 – Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
Round 3 – Pick 66 – Ahkello Witherspoon, CB, Colorado
Round 3 – Pick 104 – C.J. Beathard, QB, Iowa
Round 4 – Pick 121 – Joe Williams, RB, Utah
Round 5 – Pick 146 – George Kittle, TE, Iowa
Round 5 – Pick 177 – Trent Taylor, WR, Louisiana Tech
Round 6 – Pick 198 – D.J. Jones, DT, Ole Miss
Round 6 – Pick 202- Pita Taumoepenu, DE, Utah
Round 7 – Pick 229 – Adrian Colbert, CB, Miami
About the Author: Insidethe49
