It’s that time again, when we look at the previous drafts of the San Francisco 49ers and reflect. We’re lucky to have video of each draft, thanks to YouTube poster and 49ers fan Marvin49. We’ll look at every year of the Kyle Shanahan era through 2025. Today it’s 2019.
The 2019 NFL Draft was the draft that defined the Kyle Shanahan 49ers.
Eight years later, the fingerprints of this class are still all over the team’s identity. The pass rush revolved around one player. The offense revolved around another.
And a fifth-round linebacker joined with the guy they took the year prior to make a tandem not unlike Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.
But of course, it can’t go smoothly.
The lead-up was nothing more than a slow-motion race to the bottom. The 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo to a knee injury in 2018 and suddenly found themselves staring at the possibility of the first overall pick. This year, the first pick was obvious: Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa.
Unfortunately, the Arizona Cardinals kept getting in the way.
The Steve Wilks-led Cardinals had three wins in 2018, two of which were against the 49ers. The 49ers finished with four wins, which dropped them to the second overall pick.
I mean, you can’t make this up. The 49ers are in a race for the first pick and don’t stink as much as another team. Said “other team” still managed to beat the 49ers twice while also getting the worst record in football.
This is where I’d say, “Because, 49ers.” But in hindsight, things couldn’t have worked out any better.
The Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury, and Kingsbury made it clear he wanted Kyler Murray. Arizona took the quarterback first overall, and the San Francisco 49ers happily walked away with Nick Bosa. Bosa quickly became the centerpiece of the 49ers’ pass rush and one of the most dominant edge rushers in football. Entire offensive game plans revolved around slowing him down via double and triple teams.
This first-round pick was definitely not a bust. It was a pick that changed the defense overnight. Even in 2025, before his season ended early, Bosa showed exactly why: appearing in three games and helping seal late wins in two of them. Then came the gut punch in Week 3 — a torn ACL that ended his season. This guy changed the 49ers’ defense. And we’re still talking about the first selection.
With their next pick, Kyle Shanahan went back to a player he had gotten to know at the Senior Bowl: Deebo Samuel.
Samuel became one of the most unique offensive weapons seen in years. The “wide back” role — part receiver, part running back, all wrecking ball — became a defining feature of the Shanahan offense almost immediately. Defenders knew he was coming and still struggled to stop him.
Samuel eventually moved on from San Francisco and was traded to the Washington Commanders. Still, his impact on the offense remains obvious whenever you look back at the peak years of the Shanahan system.
In 2025, with Washington, Samuel appeared in 16 games and caught 72 passes for 727 yards and five touchdowns while adding 75 yards rushing and another score on the ground. And he might be looking for a new team in 2026, with reports that the Commanders might not bring him back.
OK, so we’re two for two. Can they do things in threes? No, because the next pick was a wide receiver: Jalen Hurd. On paper, Hurd looked like the perfect Shanahan weapon. A former running back turned receiver with size, versatility, and physicality. And none of that was ever shown when he made the pros.
A back injury in his rookie preseason landed him on injured reserve. A torn ACL wiped out the following season. Another injury in 2021 eventually led the 49ers to move on. Hurd later signed with the New England Patriots in July 2023 but retired the following month without ever appearing in an NFL regular-season game.
But don’t worry, things get back on track with the fourth pick. On track to erect a mighty kingdom, we call (or called…since it’s now off the map) Punterville. Australian punter Mitch Wishnowsky was next. A punter who wasn’t afraid to lay wood when needed and had some nice wheels on him as well.
The team moved on from Wishnowsky in May 2025. His season turned into a brief tour around the league — signing with Washington, being released three days later, and eventually landing with the Buffalo Bills. Punterville or no Punterville, one must travel to be a punter.
The good picks kept coming with the 49ers now getting the steal of the class: linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
Greenlaw paired with Fred Warner to form one of the best linebacker duos the franchise has seen since the Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman days. His most famous moment came during the 2019 season when he stopped Seattle inches short of the goal line in Week 17 to secure the NFC’s top seed.
Unfortunately, since the 49ers drafted well, they couldn’t pay everyone, so Greenlaw went to the Denver Broncos in 2025. The 49ers were in the mix to retain him, but Denver just had more cash.
In hindsight, it might have been disappointing for the 49ers to have extended him and then have the 2026 that Denver did with Greenlaw. He missed the first six weeks of the 2026 season, and a spat with a referee in his first game back got him suspended for the next. He finished the year with 43 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hits, and 1 interception across 8 games.
And…that’s pretty much it for players that made impact. There were still some picks left. Picks like tight end Kaden Smith, who didn’t make it through his rookie season before being waived. Or Justin Skule, who managed to make it past a single season, but just being on the roster might be the only thing we remember.
Things for this draft ended with cornerback Tim Harris. Harris never appeared in a game for the 49ers and was waived in 2020. He bounced around briefly before spending time in the XFL in 2023.
You can’t nail them all, but this draft was what made the 49ers a juggernaut for future years. It’s so strange to be writing this and only seeing one player from it still on the team.
Pick Breakdown
Round 1 – Pick 2 – Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State
Round 2 – Pick 36 – Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
Round 3 – Pick 67 – Jalen Hurd, WR, Baylor
Round 4 – Pick 110- Mitch Wishnowsky, P, Utah
Round 5 – Pick 148 – Dre Greenlaw- LB, Arkansas
Round 6 – Pick 176 – Kaden Smith, TE Stanford
Round 6 – Pick 183 – Justin Skule, OT, Vanderbilt
Round 6 – Pick 198 – Tim Harris, CB, Virginia
