49ers' Shanahan, Lynch evaluate their 10th draft class, disregard critique of ‘reaches'

SANTA CLARA — Some drafts bombed. Some didn’t. And some late-round picks offset first-round busts.

Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch just produced their 10th draft class together. Time will tell if this goes boom, bust, or to the Super Bowl.

They bypassed the first round (to some critics’ sarcastic glee) and ended up drafting eight players, with four apiece on offense and defense. Plus, they acquired a 2027 sixth-round pick, and, minus linebacker Dee Winters, who they traded to Dallas.

Five trades in all were made before the 49ers were done by the end of Round 5, their earliest exit yet under this regime.

Neither Lynch nor Shanahan agreed with the notion their 49ers drafts typically veer from “consensus” and often include “reach” picks.

"Well, I appreciate that you think that. Depends on whose consensus,” Lynch responded. “We got consensus in this building. That’s the that’s the consensus I care about."

Shanahan later chimed in to explain that the 49ers’ harmonious work and maneuvering allowed them to stay true to their own draft board.

“That was one of the coolest things with this draft, just so you don’t reach on somebody,” said Shanahan, referring to how the 49ers do their “homework from around the league, not necessarily like Twitter or media stuff.”

Shanahan then referenced teh 49ers’ moving down from No. 27 to No. 30, then to No. 33, adding: “We were able to still get our guy,” presumably referring to top draft pick, wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling atop the second round.

The 49ers entered Thursday with six picks but came away with eight players by virtue of trades.

“All that stuff was really cool to get the guys that you want but also find a way to get eight players when you only had six bullets,” Shanahan said. “And also, to gain a draft pick for next year, which sometimes you trade before the trade deadline, as I think we have in the last couple years. And to get these guys that we had, it was really neat."

As for specific players, here is their analysis:

ON WIDE RECEIVER BRANDON AIYUK, who’s been estranged from the team since last season and is not welcome back even though he’s on the roster:

"No new update right now. We’re available,” Lynch said. “Give us a call (to trade). And like I said earlier, I think it’s the prudent thing to do. He's an extremely talented player. He’s been an extremely effective player in our league; situation didn’t work itself out here. That’s not to say that it can’t be rekindled somewhere else. And we’d be happy to do something with anyone if the opportunity presented itself.”

As for an outright release, Lynch said it’s “not anytime soon.”

ON RUNNING BACK KAELON BLACK, a third-round choice and their fifth rusher drafted in six years:

SHANAHAN: "It always starts with me with just who’s the most natural running back. I love third-down backs, all the pass game stuff that people can bring, but when it just comes to running the ball, you need to have more than one starter. We’ve gone through a number of years here where we’ve been through at least four backs. Last year was one of the abnormal years where, and it was awesome, but our starting back was able to stay healthy.

“Usually, it happens a lot, where it’s not just the one, it’s the two. We’ve gone through four (running backs) a number of times, and so, what he could do as a true starting running back is what I liked. If you ever had to give him more carries, could he hit the right hole? Can he move the chains when you only block it for 3 (yards), can he get 5 (yards)? The physicality he ran with, how he broke tackles when he did get into open space, how he didn’t sit there and stutter his feet, he just broke to open spots and got yards. And then what he did at his pro day.

“When you see a tough, hard-nosed runner who ends up running the 40 that he did, to know what else is in his body for more explosiveness and stuff like that. You know, they didn’t throw him the ball a lot, but when you watch his Senior Bowl, you watch his older tape from his other school, you see that he has that skillset that you can really develop and you got a guy you can win with."

ON LINEBACKER JADEN DUGGER, whose 6-4 1/2 frame is similar to recently promoted linebackers coach K.J. Wright, a former 11-year linebacker:

Lynch: "I remember a draft meeting where K.J. was becoming extremely convicted on the young man.' And I said, ‘Wait just a second, throw up K.J.’s card.' We got this cool ‘tale of the tape.’ And I said, ‘you’re trying to draft yourself.' And I think he was, and if we come anywhere close to that, it’d be a really good thing.

“Dugger was a cool prospect, interesting story. Went to Georgetown as a safety after two years, goes to Lafayette and is playing kind of an edge this year, they moved him to linebacker, plays some over the slot. So, 84-and-a-half-inch wingspan, 35-inch arms. Really intriguing dude. We just want to get him in the building. I think there’s impact he can make right away, but then development that we really believe he can be a really fun player to work with and a really impactful player for our team."

ON DRAFTING COLLEGIATE TACKLES IN CARVER WILLIS AND ENRIQUE CRUZ JR.:

Shanahan on Willis: “Yeah, we’ll start him off inside. See if he can do it there and give him a chance to try to earn that (left guard) spot.”

Lynch on Cruz: “(Assistant coach) Chris Foerster went out (to Chicago), worked him out, and that was a big step for us. You’re looking at a guy that among all the offensive linemen, had the fastest 20(-yard dash) time, that has the highest vertical jump, the highest speed of any of the offensive tackles in a game. Now, is that all valuable for an offensive tackle? We’ll see, but it speaks to the type of athlete he is. And we had a good feel on him. We did more work and got to a point where we think he’s a tackle. We think he may have guard flex, but we’re excited to add him to the to the offensive line group to add some competition.”

ON DEFENSIVE TACKLE GRACEN HALTON:

Lynch: "He plays the style that we like to play. Plays in the opposing offenses' backfield, attacking style, team captain, really impactful player. And you talk to the people at Oklahoma, they rave about him. We’re really surprised he lasted that long and really thrilled to pounce on him when he got there."

ON NOT DRAFTING A SAFETY:

Lynch: “There were some guys that came off and, look this thing’s still going on, we’ve got some free agents and all that. We’ve got a group that we really do like. But kind of the way the board fell, it just didn’t work out. And love what we were able to add. The work’s not over.”

(Notre Dame safety Jalen Stroman is expected to be among the undrafted free agents signing with the 49ers.)

ON ROSTER CHANCES FOR THIS EIGHT-MAN CLASS:

Shanahan: "I’m always hoping that we got a chance that all these guys make the team. That’s kind of the goal with all your draft picks. You go in with six and you can find a way to get eight. If we can find eight guys to make our 53, you get a lot better. Now, I think starting with free agency, how free agency went, I think that’s going to be a huge challenge. That’s why you get in some spots and you’re like, ‘man, I really want to take this position.' But the best available here, I don’t think could beat out who we have. Whether you want to get better or not at the position. It doesn’t always show that way. And I think we really did good in free agency. So, I think it’ll be a challenge for all eight of these guys to make our team. I think we have a chance for a couple guys possibly to start or have a chance to start. And I think a number of these guys can be a big part or have a chance to start two years from now when you have some unrestricted free agents that we lose. So overall I hope all eight guys just contribute."

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 6:08 PM.