San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch made a pretty bold claim about one of their two first-round selections, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The 49ers owned the 13th and 31st picks heading into the 2020 NFL Draft. After some trades, the 49ers ended up selecting 14th and 25th.

Speaking to Peter King of NBC Sports, Lynch said the team was comfortable taking Aiyuk at 13th heading into the draft,

“I think it was two days before the draft, I said to Kyle, you know what? I know people might raise some eyebrows, but I really don’t care. At 13, if we get stuck and we can’t trade out, I’d be perfectly happy taking Aiyuk,” Lynch said.

“And he said, I’m so glad you said that ‘cause I feel the same way! I think we knew at that point that he had really become a guy that we had become intrigued with. I think the combination of strength and speed and separation ability and then the advantage, I think in a year like this, you have to trust relationships more than ever before.

[Arizona State coach] Herm Edwards, he’s the godparent to my youngest daughter. I’m his son’s godparent. He coached me for a long time. One of my closest friends in the world. I called Herm and I said, ‘Herm, give me the skinny on this kid.’ One of the things he talked about is just how competitive and how important it was for Brandon to be great. That spoke to me and spoke to us.”

The 49ers did end up selecting South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw with the 14th pick with hopes that Aiyuk would be there later in the first round. The 49ers ended up having to trade up to number 25 to make sure they got their wide receiver. These comments probably won't raise too many eyebrows now, because the 49ers didn't select him there. But if the 49ers would have selected him 13th or 14th overall, there would have been a lot of chatter.

Henry Ruggs would have been the only wide receiver off the board at that point. Aiyuk hasn't been talked about as one of the top rookie wide receivers, but it's clear the 49ers feel he is a special talent.