T
he NFL Draft is over and all 32 teams have their draft classes set. Now, the focus shifts fully onto the 2026 season, where minicamps will soon begin, giving teams the chance to see their new draft picks in action for the first time as a member of their organizations. For some teams, the goal of this rookie class to keep the standards high and keep the team playing Super Bowl caliber football in the fall. For other teams, like the San Francisco 49ers, the hope is that these rookies can help return the team to contention and bring a Lombardi Trophy back to their city.
Entering the draft, a lot of hype surrounded the 49ers. Signing several big name free agents, such as Mike Evans and Dre Greenlaw, the 49ers showed that they are serious about being legit Super Bowl contenders once again and needed to find the right pieces in the draft to fill the remaining voids while also providing more depth. But throughout the draft, the 49ers appeared to shift away from a conventional strategy, instead taking guys that much less talked about. Facing some criticism for their choices, general manager John Lynch responded to the haters, providing clarity on his and the rest of the organization’s priorities.
Lynch Does Not Care What the Outsiders Think
Lynch has served as the 49ers’ general manager for nearly a decade at this point and has made several draft picks. And over the years, Lynch has gotten used to taking criticism and this year was no different. Originally holding the 27th overall pick, the 49ers ended up trading out of the first round and used their day two picks to select players who some saw as reaches. But Lynch only cares about what the people in the 49ers’ building think, not what everyone else does.
“It depends on whose consensus,” Lynch said. “We’ve got consensus in this building. That’s the consensus I care about.”
The 49ers have drafted several star players in the Lynch-Kyle Shanahan era, including George Kittle, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Brock Purdy but in the midst of those guys, the 49ers have also whiffed on a lot of picks. Notably strong at finding gems in the later rounds, with Kittle being a fifth rounder, Warner being a third rounder and Purdy being the final pick of the ’22 draft, a lot of the early round picks failed to pan out. However, the team hopes that this is the year that every pick ends up being a true star.
Media Members Review the Draft
At the conclusion of the draft, several media outlets provided their analysis on the 49ers’ draft– most notably ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. Noting the 49ers’ first three picks specifically, Kiper Jr. was one of many to question the 49ers’ thought process throughout the weekend.
“I had mixed feelings on the 49ers kicking off Day 2 with Stribling,” Kiper Jr. said. “He has 4.36 speed and shows burst out of his breaks, and the pick hit on a need. But he was No. 73 on my board and the No. 12 wideout. Denzel Boston? Germie Bernard? Antonio Williams? I had a half-dozen receivers who made more sense in that spot. For the next 20-30 picks, teams were taking guys ranked ahead of him. And although there wasn’t an offensive tackle in range at No. 33, there were edge rushers, which I clocked as a bigger need than receiver.”
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