SANTA CLARA — Let’s run down a list of John Lynch’s accomplishments on Thursday, his first time sitting in the captain’s chair during the NFL Draft.
-Acquired two of the top three rated players on his draft board, nearly an unheard of feat in the NFL, and netted two extra third round picks in the process. Ten minutes after I reported the 49ers were debating between Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster a month ago, Lynch told the media that had Chicago selected Thomas at No. 2, the 49ers were likely going to take Reuben Foster at No. 3. Lynch believes he has two violent football players to reconstruct the defense around. And it barely cost San Francisco anything.
-Entrusted Paraag Marathe to handle trade negotiations with Chicago and Seattle. The first thing Lynch told reporters in late January was that he knows what he doesn’t know. Marathe is an expert with negotiating and has relationships all across the league. Lynch not only let him go to work, he publicly gave him credit afterwards. The front office is no longer an ego-driven organism. Marathe’s role is embraced and utilized.
-Called nearly every team in the draft once the early teens started rolling around. Lynch was constantly trying to gather information about his target Reuben Foster — and he did so without blowing his cover. Impressive.
-Vetted Foster for seven hours on his visit to Santa Clara, according to Ian Rapoport. One of the strengths Lynch offers the 49ers are his people skills. He said he has a “B.S. meter” that he would put to good use during the draft process. After a thorough investigation, the GM had no qualms with Foster’s NFL Combine incident, his diluted drug test, or his injured shoulder. The 49ers defended Foster’s character.
Lynch on Foster: I would anticipate people maybe questioning some of his character, but I will tell you his character is what drew us to him pic.twitter.com/TQYa82JS0P
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 28, 2017
-Stuck with the strategy of reloading on defense in the draft, despite temptations. Mitchell Trubisky was the No. 1 quarterback on San Francisco’s board, Lynch confirmed. Kyle Shanahan is on record saying he was more in charge of free agency, and Lynch was in charge of the draft. Instead of being lured by an iffy quarterback such as DeShone Kizer or some other weapon for Shanahan to play with, Lynch chose Foster, a player who can defend both the run and pass. Stacking the defense with studs and letting Kyle squeeze the most out of the offense is the right play to begin this rebuild.
-Identified a character that’ll sharpen the 49ers’ locker room. As described by himself, Foster is a straight up savage. He plays a violent, contagious brand of football that’ll harden the nipples of true football junkies. “I bring the passion. I bring a fire to the team like no other,” Foster said on a conference call. “I give people love and respect. The player next to me are going to want to play with the passion I play. You show by example. You show by leadership. You show by vocals. I’m all of the above.”
-Eased the pressure Thomas would’ve faced had he been the only Day 1 draft pick. I’m always going to provide honest 49ers coverage: I didn’t love the Thomas pick. At all. I can be talked into it, but I have concerns he’s a franchise player. That pick now looks a lot stronger with Foster sitting next to him on stage Friday at the introductory press conference. Getting selected at No. 3 puts immense pressure on a player, especially one who probably isn’t going to wrack up statistics like Thomas. If Foster starts to develop as a better NFL player, it lessens burden for Thomas to be a star immediately.
There is no quicker way to turn an NFL franchise than to hit home runs in the draft. It’s also asinine to hand out a letter grade for Lynch’s picks for at least three seasons — let alone before anyone touches the practice field. There are still nine draft picks for Lynch to make, not until No. 66 and No. 67 on Friday. A few days from now we could be reconsidering the haul the 49ers are bringing home.
With that caveat out of the way, Lynch was labeled as inexperienced, but none of that showed on Thursday. People around the league were impressed with the groceries the first-time GM is bringing home, and honestly, some are downright jealous of what he pulled off.