National Football League

2017 NFL Draft: How Hiring John Lynch as General Manager Affects the 49ers Plans

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:30 p.m. ET

Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

With John Lynch in place as the San Francisco 49ers general manager, questions will surely arise about how he’ll go about addressing the team’s needs in the 2017 NFL Draft.

OK, so the San Francisco 49ers answered one major question — John Lynch is the new general manager and will hold his first NFL front-office position ever.

49ers

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Part of his first task will be improving a Niners roster in desperate need of talent.

This, of course, points to the 2017 NFL Draft in April. Lynch has zero experience running a draft war room so, needless to say, he’ll have a lot of learning to do between now and when the 49ers’ number is called in Round 1.

On one hand, San Francisco’s current roster situation makes Lynch’s job a bit easier. The Niners have so many needs across the board, and Lynch will enjoy the luxury of simply taking the best player available with each pick.

But there’s a lot more to it than that.

While former GM Trent Baalke made plenty of mistakes, one can easily point out he had a knack for stockpiling draft picks and often trading down in rounds to acquire more. It’s more complicated than just a phone call or two. Lynch will have to master that, if that’s his route of choice.

The Trade-Down Theory

San Francisco has the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. When considering the plethora of needs though, it might be a wise move to trade down in Round 1 to acquire much-needed selections.

Earlier this month, Niner Noise explored the possibility of trading down to the No. 5 spot with the Tennessee Titans. Without going into much more detail — you can read about it here — San Francisco could wind up with two first-round picks and still have a top-five selection.

A guess would imply Lynch doesn’t go this route. At least not now. In all likelihood, Lynch’s draft-day moves would be more conservative rather than dynamic.

In his first gig as GM, Lynch probably doesn’t want to take a lot of chances. If that’s true, San Francisco stays at No. 2.

Who to Pick?

Take a look around at most NFL mocks, and the 49ers are seen as tabbing a quarterback with their first pick in 2017.

SB Nation’s Dan Kadar backed this assessment up with his latest Mocking the Draft piece, and has the Niners grabbing Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer at No. 2.

Kadar wrote:

Frankly, it’s impossible to get a feel on what the 49ers will do with this pick. No one saw the hiring of John Lynch as general manager coming in San Francisco, and currently no one would see a pick of Kizer coming. Here’s what we do know: Lynch and incoming head coach Kyle Shanahan are getting six-year deals. You can also argue that Kizer has the most upside of the three top quarterbacks in the draft, but requires the most development. Since Lynch and Shanahan appear to have the time, why not swing for the fences?

Kadar brings up two points of note — assumed head coach Kyle Shanahan will likely have a lot of say in this decision (and the overall roster in general) and both Shanahan and Lynch can afford to take a long-term risk with a guy like Kizer.

Sep 10, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) looks to throw in the first quarter against the Nevada Wolf Pack at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Maybe.

But remember Lynch’s defensive prowess during his pro days as an NFL safety. In all likelihood, he’s going to remain a defensive-minded executive, while Shanahan could call the shots on offense.

Rather than figuring out the prospect whom San Francisco takes, it’s more provocative to look at who wins out in the decision-making process. Will it be Lynch or Shanahan here?

A SWAG Prediction

What’s “SWAG,” you ask? Well, it’s a scientific wild-a** guess, to put things mildly.

Let’s cross off the notion Lynch trades down for now, even if that remains a strong possibility.

Instead, Shanahan gets his way and looks at a quarterback like Kizer or North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, who has been mocked to San Francisco in multiple drafts. Or, potentially, Shanahan wants a standout wide receiver like Clemson’s Mike Williams.

That’s our assessment — an offensive skill player, even if the name is vague at this point.