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What is Going On with the 49ers 2021 Draft Class?

It is still early but the 49ers have likely missed on important picks.

Ben Meyerson

While much of the 49ers fanbase is now ready for the full Trey Lance experience, they still might be waiting on him and the rest of the 49ers draft class to play significant time.

The 49ers have completely mismanaged their quarterback room from the start of the offseason. Prior to Trey Lance’s first official start, Ian Rapoport reported that Lance could not win the job regardless of what happened against the Cardinals.

Through Week 5, Shanahan is still saying that Garoppolo will continue to start. So Lance either could not win the job or did not win the job against the Cardinals.

One big takeaway from Lance’s first start (and a half) is he will only get better by playing more. He has to learn by getting NFL experience and won’t get better by sitting.

Until Week 4 when the 49ers were forced to start Lance in the second half versus the Seahawks, he had played 7 total snaps.

The team has not prepared him. And then when they did have a full week to game plan, they rarely ran the ball (without Lance) and asked too much of him as a drop-back passer.

Next, let’s talk about Day 2 of the 49ers' draft. They began by drafting the third guard taken, Aaron Banks, with the No. 48 pick after moving down from No. 43.

Of all of the interior offensive lineman taken in the 2021 draft after Aaron Banks in Round 2 or 3, all of them have recorded NFL snaps - while Banks has no snaps so far. 

Now it’s fair to say we can’t judge him as a player quite yet because he hasn’t played (except for preseason when he got hurt), but it is extremely alarming that he can’t beat out the 49ers worst starting offensive lineman -- Daniel Brunskill. 

Then they traded up and took running back Trey Sermon at No. 88 (3rd round). He is currently getting less snaps and carries than their 6th round pick, Elijah Mitchell.

Mitchell averages 15 rushes and 63 yards per game (4.2 YPC) while Sermon is getting 8 rushes and 34 yards per game (4.4 YPC). It’s strange that the 49ers took a back so high, considering their success with late-round running backs.

Mitchell clearly has the starting job when healthy and when Hasty returns as well as Jeff Wilson. Sermon could (and should) be relegated to fourth on the depth chart as a player who only gets extensive play time when others are hurt.

At the end of Day 2 of the draft, they selected cornerback Ambry Thomas with pick No. 102. Thomas missed all of the 2020 college football season and was viewed as a prospect who would need time to sit and learn but has tons of upside and potential.

Through five weeks, he has played 40 total snaps with only 9 being in coverage as a traditional cornerback. The rest were on special teams. In contrast, fifth round pick Deommodore Lenoir has 245 total snaps with the vast majority being on defense.

It is important to note that Lenoir hasn’t played on defense since Week 3 and has been benched for veterans the 49ers brought in off the scrap heap (Dre Kirkpatrick, Josh Norman).

As for the other Day 3 picks, the 49ers seemed to have found their best value there. I noted earlier Mitchell’s play and Lenoir but the 49ers have also played their other two late picks -- offensive tackle Jaylon Moore and safety Talanoa Hufanga.

Hufanga has played 30 defensive snaps and has been a key depth piece. With all the losses at corner, they will play Hufanaga along with Tartt and Ward so they don’t have to play a lackluster corner. 

Moore is the 49ers current swing tackle (first tackle off the bench). When Trent Williams got hurt and had to go out against the Seahawks, Moore played the last 22 snaps at left tackle and allowed 1 total pressure.

So all of the late-round picks the 49ers made have worked out better than expected (or as well as expected), but the higher drafted players at the same positions are not playing ahead of them.

While the team has found some value in the draft, they need to hit and be more consistent on mid-round picks as you expect some of those selections to be starters. 

It is still early but the 49ers have likely missed on important picks and unless Lance is the QB of the future - this could be a lost draft for John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan.

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Ben Meyerson
BEN MEYERSON

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