© Mark J. Rebilas | 2020 Feb 2
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have done an impressive job finding late-round talent during their time with the 49ers. George Kittle, D.J. Jones, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw were all selected with the 70th pick or later.
According to ESPN, Lynch and Shanahan will soon be able to add another name to their “draft steals” list in wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who San Francisco selected with the 217th overall pick (7th round). Jennings made ESPN’s list of 10 steals in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Here’s what they said about Jennings:
The 49ers are building an offense full of YAC monsters out in the Bay Area. They already had the league leaders in broken tackles at receiver (Deebo Samuel, 18) and tight end (George Kittle, 20) on the roster. Then they added the player who finished second in the draft class in terms of yards after the catch per reception (Brandon Aiyuk, 10.9) before taking college football’s leader in broken tackles in the seventh.
Jennings broke 30 tackles on only 59 catches last season. Defensive backs bounced off his legs repeatedly, and his fall to the seventh round had more to do with off-field issues than on-field production. While he lacks the top-end speed to be productive downfield in the league, Jennings doesn’t have to be that in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Here’s the rest of the Top 10:
Pick 67. Detroit Lions: Julian Okwara, Edge, Notre Dame
72. Arizona Cardinals: Josh Jones, OT, Houston
89. Minnesota Vikings: Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State
105. New Orleans Saints: Adam Trautman, TE, Dayton
127. Philadelphia Eagles: K’Von Wallace, S, Clemson
138. Las Vegas Raiders: Amik Robertson, CB, Louisiana Tech
161. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tyler Johnson, WR, Minnesota
215. Cincinnati Bengals: Markus Bailey, ILB, Purdue
219. Baltimore Ravens: Geno Stone, S, Iowa