Grading 49ers two picks from Round 1 of NFL draft

The 49ers didn’t make a pick on the second day of the NFL Draft Friday after a pair of trades to take two prospects in the opening round Thursday.

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch are feeling the effects of trading away their second-, third- and fourth-round picks to add Dee Ford and Emmanuel Sanders to last season’s team that reached the Super Bowl. But how did they do in Round 1 by adding Javon Kinlaw and Brandon Aiyuk?

Let’s get to our way-too-early grades that truly can’t be determined until we find out if the 49ers won their sixth Lombardi Trophy next February.

Pick No. 14: Javon Kinlaw (6-5, 324), DT, South Carolina

The 49ers moved back one spot while acquiring a fourth-round pick from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before using the 14th pick on Kinlaw, a talented defensive tackle they’ve been linked to since trading DeForest Buckner in March. Turns out they found Buckner’s replacement with the pick they received for him in the swap with the Colts.

In Kinlaw, the 49ers get another massive disruptor along the interior with an extremely high upside. But Kinlaw isn’t considered the slam-dunk prospect Buckner was when he was the seventh overall pick out of Oregon in 2016.

Buckner was durable, productive and had leadership traits that made him San Francisco’s MVP during last season’s Super Bowl run. He was good enough to earn an $84 million extension with the Colts which was too rich for the 49ers knowing they had to pay Arik Armstead and, eventually, George Kittle on lucrative second contracts.

Kinlaw couldn’t be entering a better situation. He’s joining a defensive line that is already loaded with players like Nick Bosa, Armstead, Dee Ford, Solomon Thomas and D.J. Jones. He won’t be asked to pick up a struggling position group -- he just has to be good enough to ensure his teammates are in positions to succeed as they were with Buckner manning the “three technique.”

In that sense, paying Kinlaw some $15 million over the next four years -- some 18 percent the cost of Buckner’s contract -- is sound logic, even if Kinlaw isn’t a perennial Pro Bowler. Though given his talent and productive crew of teammates, Kinlaw could develop into one of the league’s better young defensive tackles soon if the 49ers can maximize his potential.

GRADE: B+

Pick No. 25: Brandon Aiyuk (5-11, 205), wide receiver, Arizona State

The 49ers used the fourth-round pick they received from moving back for Kinlaw to move up six spots in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, while also including one of their two fifth-round selections.

Kyle Shanahan identified Aiyuk as his favorite receiver in the class and would have considered taking him at No. 13 had Kinlaw been off the board even though Aiyuk was projected to be a late first-round pick.

Aiyuk doesn’t have the same breakaway speed as the first receiver drafted, Henry Ruggs III, but he accelerates almost as quickly and made a slew of big plays for the Sun Devils last season. Additionally, Aiyuk has Go-Go-Gadget arms that measure 33 1/2 inches and are longer than Armstead’s.

What’s the knock on Aiyuk? Last year was his only campaign of significant production in college. He had just 33 catches for 474 yards while working behind first-round draft pick N’Keal Harry in 2019. Aiyuk was a junior college transfer that began at Sierra College in Rocklin because he didn’t look ready to play Division I out of high school.

Still, Shanahan is betting on Aiyuk’s growing skill set he saw on film. Aiyuk is explosive, evident by his 40-inch vertical jump and 1.52-second in the 10-yard split, ranking in the 93rd percentile among receivers. He had six touchdowns that went longer than 30 yards and two that were longer than 80. His 10.9 yards after the catch was tops in the class and higher than Ruggs’ 10.5. Aiyuk could add value in the return game, though it’s unlikely Shanahan would ask that of a first-round pick.

And while Aiyuk’s college route tree was far from exotic, Shanahan believes he has the athleticism to turn into a reliable starter akin to Pierre Garçon or Sanders, the player he’s replacing. Chris Simms, one of Shanahan’s closest friends, Tweeted this week, “Shanahan thinks Brandon Aiyuk can be Isaac Bruce.”

Adding Aiyuk to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel looks like a slam dunk. But it came at a cost. The 49ers moved up for Aiyuk rather than trade back for additional picks they could have used to shore up the secondary or the offensive line, which could be areas of concern soon.

Simply put, Shanahan sprung for his preferred target rather than taking advantage of one of the deepest receiver classes in recent memory. Shanahan could have waited on a wideout while adding more picks to replenish the depth of the roster and develop younger players for the future. Instead, all his chips are in the middle of the table for another Super Bowl run.

Bold? Yes. Smart? We’ll see.

GRADE: B

This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 9:53 PM.