© Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA – There may be friction within the upper levels of the San Francisco 49ers organization, and it’s not between head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. According to a report by Bleacher Report’s Tyler Dunne, which quotes a former 49ers staffer, the current scouting team has felt like their opinions often go under- or completely unvalued.
The discontent comes from a number of choices, all drawing from the core issue of Lynch and Shanahan wielding supreme power in the talent evaluation process, especially as it relates to the draft, and their overruling of scouts’ assessments. Among those decisions viewed by scouts as problematic were the drafting of defensive end Solomon Thomas, the third overall pick in 2017, running back Joe Williams (fourth round, 121st overall in 2017), defensive backs Tarvarius Moore and Ahkello Witherspoon, defensive tackle Kentavius Street, quarterback C.J. Beathard, and most recently, Nick Bosa.
According to Dunne’s report, 49ers scouts “never viewed” Thomas, who took a class with Lynch at Stanford University, as a top-five pick. Meanwhile Williams, “wasn’t even on the draft board that same year,” according to the source.
The rest of those aforementioned players, including Bosa, were borne of decisions made much more by coaching staff than by scouts.
According to Dunne’s source, the issue with Bosa was not necessarily his pedigree, but the fact that Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who was the third overall pick to the New York Jets, wasn’t ever genuinely considered as an option due to the team’s focus on Bosa “all the way.”
Some of those scouts have thought about departing the organization at the conclusion of their contracts with the 49ers, according to the staffer, with Dunne reporting they feel “powerless.”