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 2020.The 2020 NFL Draft was unlike anything we’d seen before; No stage. No crowd. No boos raining down on Roger Goodell. Just the NFL commissioner sitting in his basement while the rest of us tried to figure out how to host draft parties over Zoom. The Combine happened, but
everything after that—visits, pro days, the normal lead-up—was thrown into chaos. It was a very, very weird offseason.
Oh, and the 49ers were coming off a Super Bowl loss. Criticisms of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo rained down, and the analysis was that they were in “win-now” mode. This wasn’t about finding foundational pieces. This was about maintaining a roster that had just made a title run. And that roster maintenance began with trading DeForest Buckner at the start of free agency.
There’s your tone setter for this one.
San Francisco received a first-round pick from the Colts and used it on South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. They even traded back one spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who selected Tristan Wirfs—an offensive tackle many thought would’ve been a perfect fit.
Well, that’s what we got for thinking, I suppose.
Kinlaw had flashes early. There were moments—like his pick-six against the Los Angeles Rams—where you could see what the vision was. But injuries and inconsistency followed him throughout his time in San Francisco. By the time things started to stabilize, the 49ers had already declined his fifth-year option.
He eventually signed a three-year deal with Washington and played a full 2025 season, but never became the player he was drafted to be. His 2025 season in Washington pretty much summed it all up—17 games, solid tackle numbers, and an ejection in Week 16 for throwing a punch during a brawl against the Philadelphia Eagles. Because of course.
But hey, the 49ers can try again. They have two draft picks in this draft. And the second one definitely worked out. For a couple of seasons at least.
That pick is none other than Brandon Aiyuk, who looked like a home run for a while. He developed into the team’s top receiver and earned a major extension in the 2024 offseason. Everything pointed to him being a long-term cornerstone.
And then everything flipped in the 2024 offseason.
A drawn-out contract saga went through the summer. Aiyuk vetoed trade options, signed late, and showed up without a full camp. The version of him on the field wasn’t the same as in 2023. Then came the real blow: a torn ACL and MCL against the Kansas City Chiefs that ended his 2024 season and effectively wiped out 2025 before it even began.
That injury ended up being the last time we saw him in a 49ers uniform. During 2025, fans saw more of him on Instagram than on Sundays. Reports surfaced about missed rehab meetings—something John Lynch all but confirmed—before saying Aiyuk has likely played his last snap with the team. His guarantees were voided, and while he technically remains under contract, he’s sitting in roster limbo.
The NFL is a very dirty business.
After the first round, the 49ers didn’t pick again until the fifth, where they selected Colton McKivitz.
McKivitz eventually took over the right tackle spot left behind by Mike McGlinchey. He’s never been a dominant player, but he’s been steady enough to hold the job. In 2025, he was serviceable—good enough to land at No. 63 on PFF’s Top 101 list and get a contract extension.
It says a lot about the position that “it could be worse” is a compliment. But for the 49ers, that’s been enough.
Next, we have tight end Charlie Woerner going in the sixth round.
Woerner was never a receiving threat, but he carved out a role as a blocker. At his peak, he was one of the better blocking tight ends in the league, which is how you stick around as a sixth-round pick. He signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024 and remained there in 2025, continuing in that same role.
Not flashy. But effective.
Later in the draft came one of the better value picks of the Shanahan era: Jauan Jennings.
Jennings didn’t do much as a rookie; in fact, he was just trying to stay on the team, but over time, he carved out a role as one of the most reliable receivers on the roster. “Third and Jauan” became a real thing, and injuries across the offense forced him into an even bigger role in 2025.
He had moments, including a key playoff performance against the Eagles, but his offseason told a different story. Contract disputes lingered, and now, as of this writing, entering 2026, Jennings remains unsigned. The market didn’t meet expectations, and with the 49ers bringing in other receivers, a return feels unlikely at the number he was hoping for.
Still, for a seventh-round pick, this is a win.
And for whatever it’s worth, he remains the only active player currently in free agency with a perfect passer rating.
So what was the 2020 draft? It was a weird one.
It was the draft where the 49ers tried to replace DeForest Buckner—and didn’t.
But it was also a draft that still produced a top receiver, a starting tackle, and one of the league’s more reliable late-round receivers.
The Kinlaw botch drags it down as a success, but it wasn’t necessarily a failure either.
Pick Breakdown
Round 1 – Pick 14 – Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina
Round 1 – Pick 25 – Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State
Round 5 – Pick 153-Colton McKivitz, OT West Virginia
Round 6 – Pick 190- Charlie Woerner, TE, Georgia
Round 7- Pick 217 – Jauan Jennings WR, Tennessee
