The San Francisco 49ers have developed a reputation for hitting on later round picks over the course of the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era. Many of the 49ers veteran leaders and current stars were second and third day draft picks from All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner (2018 third-round pick, No. 70 overall) to All-Pro tight end George Kittle (2017 fifth-round pick, No. 146 overall) to Pro Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy (2022 seventh-round pick, No. 262 overall) just to name a few. The ability to pinpoint talent in later rounds of the draft has come especially handy in recent years with San Francisco trading away its first-round selections in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as part of a move up to acquire quarterback Trey Lance at No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
However, in 2024, the 49ers will get to do something they haven’t had the opportunity to do in the previous two drafts – make a first round selection. San Francisco is slated to pick at No. 31, one of 11 total picks they currently own in 2024. Four of the team’s 11 selections are compensatory picks allotted to the 49ers for the departures of Jimmy Garoppolo, Samson Ebukam, Jimmy Ward and Azeez Al-Shaair during free agency.
“We’ve got a first-round pick for the first time in a long while,” Lynch said at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. “That’s nice, but we really try to focus on making them all count. They’re all an opportunity to improve your organization, and we look at each one of those as such. We pride ourselves on putting as much into the late rounds as we do into the early. We’ll take them where they come, and we’ll try to make the most of them.”
So how does having a first-round draft selection change the 49ers approach to evaluating talent during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and leading up the draft?
Brock PurdyBrock Purdy (born December 27, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the 49ers with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, becoming (born December 27, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the 49ers with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, becoming
