49ers 2017 NFL Draft Recap: Best and Worst San Francisco Picks

The 2017 NFL Draft is in the books, here we recap how the 49ers did with a look at the best and the worst of their selections.

The 49ers have been widely praised for their efforts in the 2017 NFL Draft, which saw them draft 10 players after moving up and down the board with regularity and add picks for next year.

Here we recap the draft and analyse the best and worst selections made by the Niners.

If you need a reminder of who the 49ers selected, consult our draft tracker from a weekend that will be seen as pivotal if the new regime does succeed in turning the organization’s fortunes around.

Best Pick

Reuben Foster [LB] Alabama

While No. 3 overall pick Solomon Thomas provides the 49ers with another supremely talented interior rusher, in terms of pure talent, Foster was their best pick.

There has been concern that Foster will need a second surgery on a shoulder injury, as well as some off-the-field issues that led him to slip to a point where the 49ers could trade back into the first round and take him at No. 31.

But reading the MMQB’s Peter King’s piece from inside the 49ers’ draft room, San Francisco’s medical staff do not seem at all worried about Foster’s shoulder.

And, if all is clear on that front, then the 49ers, who are clearly comfortable with Foster’s character, have potentially stolen a player who can develop into one of the best linebackers in the league.

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Prior to taking Foster, San Francisco was set to go into the 2017 season with free-agent signing Malcolm Smith and Ray-Ray Armstrong as NaVorro Bowman’s running mates in the middle of the field.

Bowman, coming off a torn Achilles, needs a more athletic presence next to him – Foster provides that.

He can chase sideline to sideline and attack downhill, flying to the football with impressive closing quickness and hammering ball-carriers at the line of scrimmage.

What makes Foster so valuable, though, is that he can hold up in coverage — even matching up against slot receivers on occasion — and excel as a blitzer.

At their peak Patrick Willis and Bowman were both very good in coverage and very good as blitzers.

Bowman can still make an impact as a blitzer but, with his injuries, his play in coverage has fallen off.

Foster can have an immediate impact by making up for Bowman’s deficiency in that area and, providing he learns from the 49ers veteran, has all the tools to eventually replace him as the leader of the defense.

Worst Pick

C.J. Beathard [QB] Iowa

According to King’s MMQB piece, Beathard was the only quarterback head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted in the draft.

Shanahan apparently loves how Beathard processes the game and compared him to Kirk Cousins, yet to see the 49ers trade up for a quarterback most analysts had rated as a late-round guy was underwhelming.

Beathard was impacted by poor play from his receivers and his offensive line at Iowa, but the accuracy on his short-to-intermediate throws was still extremely disappointing.

Though he is mobile and can make things happen with his legs, Beathard still struggled with his pocket presence, consistently failing to sense and evade pressure.

Beathard has shown toughness, can get the ball out quickly and has the arm to hit deep throws and show touch while doing so.

The Niners ensured Shanahan got the QB he wanted, but he has a lot of flaws and was not worth the trade up to get him.

Highest Upside

Ahkello Witherspoon [CB] Colorado

The 49ers lost a starting corner when they were forced to release Tramaine Brock, but third-round pick Witherspoon has the potential to lock down a spot on the outside for years to come.

More physical wide receivers may be able to have their way with Witherspoon early in his career, but his length and athleticism are extremely intriguing.

Standing at 6’3″ and having impressed at the Combine with a 4.45 40-yard dash and a 40.5 inch vertical jump, Witherspoon’s size and athletic abilities translate very well on the football field.

He restricts throwing windows with his length and is able to go up and compete for the ball at the catch point, registering 19 pass deflections in 2016.

Witherspoon does not rush to open his hips in press but can transition extremely quickly and turn upfield and stay in good trail position, while demonstrating the change-of-direction ability to stay with shiftier receivers at the top of routes, as evidenced by his impressive performance against John Ross.

Too many missed tackles and a lack of on-ball production — just three picks in his collegiate career — will be concerns, and he must combine his athletic tools with aggression and physicality at the next level.

But, if he does that, Witherspoon — who allowed a completion percentage of just 26.5 in 2016 — has the upside to become a top-tier starting corner.

Lowest Upside

D.J. Jones [DT] Ole Miss

It isn’t that Jones was a bad pick, far from it, he was regarded by some as a fourth or fifth-rounder and the 49ers picked him in the sixth, but he will likely be limited to a relatively low impact role in the defensive line rotation.

With a wide base at 6’2″ and 319 pounds, Jones, per Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, has shown himself capable of being an effective anchor who can stop running backs getting to the second level.

However, Miller believes Jones lacks lateral and first-step quickness, which would explain his poor production as a pass rusher — six sacks in two seasons at Ole Miss.

In the 49ers’ 4-3 scheme, Jones projects as a 1-technique adept at stopping the run, but it is tough to envisage him becoming more than that.

Safest Pick

Solomon Thomas [DE] Stanford

Some may have been underwhelmed by the 49ers taking a defensive lineman with their first pick for the third straight year, but Solomon Thomas carries very little in the way of risk and has high upside.

Thomas is undersized and, at his worst, is a player who can be completely taken out of the run game by blockers and isn’t able to get round the edge.

But his size did not prevent him from making an impact as an interior pass rusher, his power, quickness and motor enabling him to be a consistent disruptor on the inside.

Next: 49ers Exercise Fifth-Year Option on Defensive Back Jimmie Ward

Interior pass rush is a nightmare for any quarterback to deal with at any level of the sport and, even if he cannot fix his flaws, Thomas should be able to continue to put pressure in the face of opposing signal-callers, a quality that is extremely valuable to the 49ers.