First round was not irrelevant to idle 49ers
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers were rubberneckers in the NFL Draft’s first round for a second straight year. Their pick, after all, was the final payment in their 2021 trade up to No. 3 overall for Trey Lance.
Two of the 49ers’ playoff foes from last season had big nights, as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks each picked twice. Kansas City, the reigning Super Bowl champion and this draft’s host city, finished off the first round with the seventh pass rusher taken (Felix Anudike-Uzomah).
Here is more on how Thursday night’s first round impacts the 49ers, not only for the final six rounds but into the season and beyond:
QUARTERBACK PICKS
Lance remains a 49er, although no one expected a team to cough up a first-round pick in a trade offer, right?
Most quarterback-needy teams found their man atop the draft board: the Carolina Panthers (Bryce Young, No. 1), the Houston Texans (C.J. Stroud, No. 2) and the Indianapolis Colts (Anthony Richardson, No. 4). The Baltimore Ravens settled their quarterback score hours before the draft, when Lamar Jackson agreed to a five-year extension. Three days earlier, the New York Jets finalized their trade for Aaron Rodgers.
Those teams are out of the quarterback market, but what about the Titans, whose new general manager, Ran Carthon, came via the 49ers’ front office? They used their first-round pick (No. 11) offensive tackle Peter Skoronski, with Kentucky quarterback Will Levis still on the board. The Titans’ second-round spot (No. 41) seems too high to surrender for Lance.
Lance still does not figure to get traded for a variety of reasons: still-untapped potential, low market value, insurance if Brock Purdy’s elbow recovery stalls, and, an $11 million cap hit if dealt before June. (By the way, Young is the first player drafted since Purdy, who was the 262nd and final pick last year).
FRIDAY’S AGENDA
The 49ers are still slated to begin their 11-pick parade at the end of Day 2, with third-round picks Nos. 99, 101 and 102; the Raiders have the No. 100 spot. The second round begins at 4 p.m. PT, a few hours after Purdy hands out burgers from a Buffalo Wild Wings food truck in downtown Kansas City — a glamourous perk of being last draft’s Mr. Irrelevant.
Don’t sleep on @bwwings burgers. Meet me in downtown Kansas City Friday 4/28, 2-4PM where I’ll be handing out BDubs’ burgers from their food truck. 519 E 18th Street, Kansas City next to Made in KC. pic.twitter.com/YbMrBLEshT — Brock Purdy (@brockpurdy13) April 27, 2023
Saturday morning’s Day 3 picks are held in the fifth round (Nos. 155, 164, 173), sixth round (No. 216) and seventh round (Nos. 222, 247, 253, 255).
LEGION OF HMMM
The Seattle Seahawks, the biggest threat to the 49ers’ NFC West throne, went pass-oriented with their first-round picks.
Newsflash: the 49ers averaged 180 rushing yards in sweeping the Seahawks in three meetings last year, including a wild-card playoff win (41-23) that did see Brock Purdy throw for 332 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
Thursday, the Seahawks used the No. 5 overall pick on cornerback Devon Witherspoon, the latest piece to try recreating the Legion of Boom from a decade ago. Their No. 20 pick was wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Nigba, not exactly a “need pick” for an already solid corps.
Witherspoon will form a cornerback tandem with Tariq Woolen, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie last year. In July 2020, safety Jamal Adams cost them first-round picks in 2021 and ’22, plus a 2022 third rounder, in a trade that also involved a player swap with the Jets. Fellow safety Quandre Diggs arrived in a less-costly 2019 trade but he landed a $40 million extension last year.
Smith-Njigba, from Ohio State, joins D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, neither of whom had a touchdown catch in the regular season last year against the 49ers, although Metcalf went off for two touchdowns and 136 yards in the playoff exit.
EAGLES’ REPLACEMENT
In response to the 49ers poaching Javon Hargrave in free agency, the Eagles restocked their defensive line with their two first-round picks: Georgia teammates Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith.
First, they traded up to No. 9 and took Carter, whose stock presumably took a hit because of his role (racing, reckless driving) in a fatal car accident in January. (Three years ago, the 49ers used their first-round pick on defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, hoping he could replace DeForest Buckner, who got traded to the Colts. The Eagles surely hope their replacement plan works out better.)
The reigning NFC champs added more firepower to the NFL’s best pass rush by using the 30th pick on Smith. Best pass rush? They had 69 sacks last season; the 49ers had 44, including 18 1/2 from Nick Bosa.
CARDINALS’ PICK
Before examining the Cardinals’ trade of the No. 3 pick, it’s more compelling to view their selection of offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. He was Ohio State’s left tackle, and now he’ll be charged with blocking fellow Buckeye Nick Bosa, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Drafting Johnson seems like a shrewd move to protect franchise quarterback Kyler Murray, whenever he returns from knee reconstruction, but Murray is not a pocket quarterback, so he’ll be on the move regardless of who’s blocking his blindside.
THE 12-TO-3 ASCENT
Two years ago, the 49ers scaled the draft board to the No. 3 spot to select Lance. In return, the Miami Dolphins received first-round picks in 2021-23, and a 2022 third-rounder. Incidentally, the 49ers were originally to draft No. 12, which is where the Texans were Thursday before moving up to No. 3 (for defensive end Will Anderson).
It cost the Texans less than the 49ers to move up, but not much. Houston sent No. 12, along with No. 33 (second pick of the second round), and 2024 picks in the first and third rounds. The Texans acquired a 2024 fourth-rounder in return, too.
Postscript: Pick No. 29 would have been the 49ers’ had they not dealt it in the Lance trade. That pick got shipped from Miami to Denver to New Orleans in other trades, and the Saints used it on defensive tackle Bryan Bresee.
TIGHT END POOL
Dalton Kincaid was the only tight end selected in the first round, and he did not go until No. 25 to the Bills. It’s supposedly a deep position, and it’s one the 49ers should address, considering they return George Kittle with just Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE SPREE
Four offensive tackles were drafted in a nine-pick span up to slot No. 16, and that is further evidence how valuable that position is viewed. In 2018, the 49ers used their top pick at No. 9 to select Mike McGlinchey, who priced himself out of an extension with the 49ers (combined with money allocated to left tackle Trent Williams). McGlinchey left in free agency last month for the Denver Broncos, and the 49ers plan to promote Colton McKivitz (2020 fifth round).
The foursome taken in Thursday’s first round: Johnson (Cardinals, No. 6), Darnell Wright (Bears, No. 10), Skoronski (Titans, No. 11), and Broderick Jones (Steelers, No. 14).
CORNER OFFICE
Not only did Witherspoon go No. 5 to Seattle, but fellow cornerbacks came off the board at Nos. 16 and 17 (Emmanuel Forbes to the Commanders, Christian Gonzalez to the Patriots). Did you know the 49ers have not spent a first-round pick on a cornerback since Mike Rumph, in 2002?
FOUR WIDE
Wide receivers didn’t come off the board until No. 20, then Nos. 21-23. The NFL Draft has never seen a four-pick spree like that. In the past 20 years, the 49ers have picked four wide receivers in the first round: Rashaun Woods (2004), Michael Crabtree (2009), A.J. Jenkins (2012) and Brandon Aiyuk (2020).
Source: The Mercury News
