Two years ago, the San Francisco 49ers took linebacker Reuben Foster in the first round of the NFL Draft. At the time, it looked like a terrific pick at No. 31, as Foster was an incredible talent.
However, Foster then had a string of run-ins with the law, ultimately resulting in the 49ers releasing him after six games this past season.
As a result of that experience, 49ers general manager John Lynch says that the team is much more careful now and has changed the way it goes about the draft process:
“There’s certain tweaks we’ve made,” Lynch said, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “Our 30 [per team] visits this year, we brought people more in a group setting. We want to see how they interact with other people. So those are subtle things that we do. But there’s so much that just goes into the research of these players. You learn something every year. I think the most important thing, you impart upon your scouts, upon your staff is, ‘We have to be as thorough as humanly possible.’”
Lynch added that anything the club can learn about the prospects is “valuable information.”
He then said that San Francisco certainly learned from the Foster situation:
“If you aren’t always learning, shame on you, shame on us,” Lynch said. “I think with Reuben, I think we somewhat accounted for it by where we drafted him. I think we had him at a certain value. We didn’t draft him there. That doesn’t excuse us. It’s a shame.”
Foster is now a member of the Washington Redskins.
Follow Us
Subscribe