The San Francisco 49ers made some serious noise heading into the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft as the NFC West franchise made a massive trade to move up into the No. 3 spot overall.
The 49ers infamously traded their original first round pick in 2021, No. 12 overall, a 2022 third round compensatory pick, and first round picks in both 2022 and 2023 to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the No. 3 overall selection.
The 49ers remained quite active throughout the 2021 NFL Draft en route to making a slew of selections, eight to be exact. They were involved in multiple trades even after acquiring the No. 3 overall pick from the aforementioned Dolphins. But activity isn't always a good thing. The 49ers ultimately made two key mistakes that could cost the franchise in major ways moving forward. Although both decisions could very well turn out to be favorable for the 49ers in the end, only time will tell. After all, San Francisco gave up quite a bit in order to situate themselves near the top of the board and beyond.
The franchise is only a few seasons removed from their trip to the Super Bowl as NFC Champions. The 49ers are clearly thinking about both the present and the future, which could make for an interesting 2021-22 campaign in the Bay Area.
Round No. 1, Pick No. 3: Former North Dakota State Bison QB Trey Lance
Despite the fact that the San Francisco 49ers still employ veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who helped lead the team to an appearance in the Super Bowl only a few years ago, the once heralded NFC West franchise still elected to trade an absolute haul of future NFL Draft picks in order to move to No. 3 overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. As a result, the 49ers selected former North Dakota State Bison quarterback Trey Lance at No. 3 overall, though the jury still remains out on who will be the team's starter under center come Week 1 of 2021-22.
Although Lance is no doubt a talented player, the 49ers have potentially mortgaged the franchise's future on a player that has very little experience at or near the highest level while trading quite a few picks in order to acquire him. Not only that, but the 49ers have taken a very big chance on Lance even with “Jimmy G” still on the team's active roster. If the 49ers are able to trade Garoppolo, this move might make some more sense, though it doesn't appear as though Lance is ready to take the field as a starting NFL quarterback just yet.
With the rest of the team's roster currently in win-now mode, this is an incredibly curious move from the 49ers, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. Had the 49ers been able to get Lance at their original position of No. 12, that would have been one thing. But trading up to have him sit might cost the team in the short-term as another extremely valuable player could have come off the board to San Francisco at No. 3.
Round No. 3, Pick No. 88: Former Ohio State Buckeyes RB Trey Sermon
The San Francisco 49ers seem to enjoy having more than a few talented running backs on the team's active roster. With the 49ers employing at least three to four formidable running backs at a time over the course of the last several seasons, it appears as though San Francisco will once again be rolling with such a strategy.
With the No. 88 overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the 49ers elected to snag former Ohio State Buckeyes running back Trey Sermon. While Sermon wasn't impressive at times throughout his collegiate career at both Ohio State and Oklahoma, his entire body of work was relatively underwhelming — especially for the 49ers to select him in the third round. Again, San Francisco could have used such a selection to add a key piece of the puzzle to its roster heading into the 2021-22 campaign.
Ironically enough, the 49ers did exactly what the team should have done in the sixth round as San Francisco drafted former Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns running back Eli Mitchell. Instead of selecting a running back early on as opposed to tabbing a talented player at another key position of need, the 49ers could have very well waited to land Mitchell, who could end up being the better player in the end anyway.
Bringing a ton of speed and athleticism to the table, this is a late-round pick that can absolutely contribute right off the bat for the NFC West franchise. The 49ers certainly didn't need both running backs, though, while Mitchell notably averaged 6.2 yards per carry across four collegiate seasons in addition to scoring 46 total touchdowns.
Follow Us
Subscribe