It’s time to reflect on the San Francisco 49ers’ previous drafts again. Thanks to YouTube poster and 49ers fan Marvin49, we have videos of each draft. We’ll look at every year during the Kyle Shanahan era up to 2025. Today, it’s 2022.
Thanks to the Trey Lance trade, the San Francisco 49ers entered the 2022 NFL Draft without a first-round pick. This led to a much more…quiet Thursday night, so to speak. No big swings. No major moves. Just rumors about maybe trading back into the first round that never
went anywhere. Basically, the cost of doing business the year before.
At this point, Trey Lance was the starter. Jimmy Garoppolo was on the way out. The 49ers had no other options behind Lance, as we were so absolutely sure Garoppolo would be traded before the season began.
So with nine picks and no first-rounder, this draft was supposed to be about depth. Finding contributors and filling out a roster that still had Super Bowl aspirations. Instead, it seemed more like going through the motions…well, until the end.
If you want to call it a “first pick,” the 49ers opened with USC linebacker Drake Jackson in the second round. Jackson had very brief flashes early as a rotational pass rusher, but that’s the extent of it. Inconsistency and injuries followed, and by 2025, the 49ers had seen enough. He was waived in May, later signed by the Washington Commanders, only to go back to injured reserve. He re-signed on a one-year deal worth $1.4 million.
Round 3 brought the annual running back pick: Tyrion Davis-Price, a pick that didn’t make much sense then, and it doesn’t make sense now. A gap-scheme runner in a system built on outside zone, and the results matched the confusion. Davis-Price barely saw the field, was off the roster quickly, and eventually landed with the Philadelphia Eagles, which is where he would eventually win a Super Bowl ring.
Still in the third round, the 49ers tried the speed card with SMU wide receiver Danny Gray. That didn’t work so well either. One reception as a rookie and injuries. That sums up his career. But his consolation prize was much like Price’s; Gray went to the Eagles and got a Super Bowl ring for his trouble.
In the fourth round, the 49ers selected UTSA offensive tackle Spencer Burford.
Burford had a chance early. There were moments where it looked like he might lock down a starting role. That never fully happened. He was eventually passed over, and depending on who you ask, he was part of what went wrong in Super Bowl LVIII. In 2025, he left for the Las Vegas Raiders on a one-year deal.
The fifth round brought Toledo cornerback Samuel Womack. Womack had a promising rookie season, but injuries derailed everything after that. He never found his footing again and began taking some rides on the waiver taxi. He was claimed by the Indianapolis Colts and waived yet again a year later. The next team to claim and waive him was the Tennessee Titans, who took him a day after he hit the wire and sent him back midseason. Currently, he’s on the New York Jets with a future contract. If he’s on the Jets with a futures contract, that should tell you all you need to know about his…ahem, “future.”
Offensive line depth was clearly a priority in this draft, and Fordham Ram guard Nick Zakelj was part of that plan. He barely saw the field early in his career, spent time on injured reserve, and eventually got a couple of starts late in 2024. He saw three games in 2025 with very few snaps. While it’s very quiet for him, he did sign an extension this year. Don’t get too excited, that estimated $3.8 million contract only has $190k guaranteed.
Kalia Davis followed as the classic “injured upside” pick. Recovering from an ACL injury, Davis didn’t play in 2022 and saw limited action after that. There were flashes—including an interception in 2024—but injuries continued to define his availability. Shocker. The 49ers drafted a gamble that never really paid off.
Then there’s Tariq Castro-Fields, who didn’t make it out of training camp. After bouncing around the league, he also ended up tied to the Philadelphia Eagles during their Super Bowl run.
This is already looking bad until you look at the final pick in the draft. Some Iowa State kid named Brock Purdy. The only question Purdy brought to this Trey Lance-led team was if he’d even make the team.
Today, Purdy exists as the only reason this draft matters.
After injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, Purdy was thrown into the lineup and never gave the job back. What followed turned him from “Mr. Irrelevant” into the face of the franchise.
Unlike most of this class, Purdy is still here and starting. He started the season on fire before turf toe issues slowed him down and knocked him in and out of the lineup. When he returned, he put up strong numbers, though much of that came against weaker defenses like the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears.
Then came the playoffs.
The Divisional Round was rough. But it wasn’t all on him. The offensive line struggled, receivers were out of position, and the entire offense looked off. Doesn’t help matters when the defense they were up against was one of the best, if not the best, in the league. Also, it doesn’t help when everyone is injured.
Still, none of that changes the big picture. The 49ers found their quarterback in a draft full of misses. For that, we can forgive a bit. This draft didn’t produce much. Early picks didn’t hit. Mid-rounders didn’t develop. Depth never turned into impact. But they found Brock Purdy.
Pick Breakdown
Round 2 – Pick 61 – Drake Jackson, LB, USC
Round 3 – No. 93 – Tyrion Davis-Price, RB, LSU
Round 3 – No. 105 – Danny Gray, WR, SMU
Round 4 – No. 134 – Spencer Burford, OT, UTSA
Round 5 – No. 172 – Samuel Womack, CB, Toledo
Round 6 – No. 187 – Nick Zakelj, OT, Fordham
Round 6 – No. 220 – Kalia Davis, DT, UCF
Round 6 – No. 221 – Tariq Castro-Fields, CB, Penn State
Round 7 – No. 262 – Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State
