The NFL draft presents many opportunities for franchises. The consensus big board rarely shakes out that way on draft day, players slide down the board, and trade-up opportunities present themselves. Making a move to trade up early is a bad process (Hello, 49ers front office). Playing the board and waiting for the right moment to strike is the shrewd move.
Aggressiveness isn’t a bad thing. If a front office feels strongly about a player, by all means, go after your guy. I’d rather a front office feel strongly about a player and
go get him instead of choosing a player they have waffled on or are unsure about. Regardless of the results at the next level, feeling strong about a player and what they bring to the building outlines a true plan.
Yes, this is a results-driven business, so people won’t care whether you felt strongly about the player you selected. However, that is the “crap shoot” aspect of the draft. It is a gamble, and sometimes gambles pay off.
The 49ers’ big board and the consensus big board will never align. The brain trust of the 49ers has traits, both physical and character-wise, that push players up and down their board, regardless of the overall consensus.
So, what if one of the players the 49ers are enamored with is available and the team can swing a draft-day trade to get their guy? That’s fine and all, but the 49ers should be wary of including any picks from next year’s draft and instead look to include picks from this year.
Is looking at the 2027 draft class too early on April 7th? Maybe, but there is no doubt next year’s draft class is far deeper with more talent in the third and fourth rounds. This year’s draft feels relatively weak, and the second and third rounds will be teams betting on players that are either projects, have glaring deficiencies in their game, or are role players at the next level.
EDGE and linebacker are deep in this draft. Wide receivers could have three to five players in the first round. After that, everything is the clear top players at their position and a bunch of dudes for the most part.
Cam Coleman from Texas, Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State, and Ryan Williams from Alabama headline the receiver group in 2027. Jamari Johnson from Oregon is the leader of the tight end group. Two Texas offensive tackles are at the top of the position group in Brandon Baker and Trevor Goosby.
The feeling around the draft is that teams will hesitate to move off 2027 picks. The 49ers should follow suit and not move any valuable picks from next year’s draft. Is it a gamble to try to predict next year’s class and how they will perform? Absolutely. But the talent coming out next season has to be at least part of the decision-making and process for the 49ers.
Hold on to those 2027 picks, John Lynch.
