With a full year in the books, Niner Noise looks at the San Francisco 49ers’ 2017 NFL Draft class and dishes out grades for each player after their rookie campaigns.
It’s safe to say San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch had a pretty successful NFL Draft.
Lynch walked out with 10 players in the 2017 draft, almost all of which offered significant contributions in their first years with the Niners.
Not bad for a first-year GM in charge of a complete team rebuild.
With a full season now under these rookies’ belts, it’s worth going back and evaluating each player’s performance, report-card style.
To do this, we’ll have to establish some grading criteria. Cumulative grades will be based off individual player’s performance, stats, analytics and other data made available. And grades will be weighted based off when the player was drafted versus an accepted performance level generally associated with the round. The later the round, the lower the expectation level for immediate impact.
Consideration will also be given for player potential, as rookies aren’t always going to contribute at a high level in their first seasons.
But before we get into the picks, let’s look at Lynch’s undrafted free agents.
49ers’ 2017 Undrafted Free Agents
John Lynch brought in a total of 18 undrafted free agents following the final round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
San Francisco 49ers
They were as follows:
- QB Nick Mullens, Southern Mississippi
- TE Cole Hikutini, Louisville
- DB Lorenzo Jerome, St, Francis
- RB Matt Breida, Georgia Southern
- OL Erik Magnuson, Michigan
- WR Kendrick Bourne, Eastern Washington
- OL Darrell Williams Jr., Western Michigan
- WR K.D. Cannon, Baylor
- WR Victor Bolden, Oregon State
- LB Jimmie Gilbert, Colorado
- OL John Flynn, Montana State
- DE Noble Nwachukwu, West Virginia
- LB Donavin Newsom, Missouri
- OL Bret Treadway, Lamar
- FB Tyler McCloskey, Houston
- S Malik Golden, Penn State
- OG Evan Goodman, Arizona State
- CB Zach Franklin, Washburn
Since these players weren’t technically drafted, we’ll look at them as a cumulative grade.
UDFAs rarely crack starting lineups. Most are, at best, relegated to backup roles and special teams on 53-man rosters. Some wind up on practice squads as developmental pieces.
Out of this crop, though, the Niners received notable contributions from running back Matt Breida, offensive lineman Erik Magnuson and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. Fellow wideout Victor Bolden even saw snaps before landing on season-ending injured reserve.
Breida surprised during training camp and ended up earning the No. 2 tailback spot behind Carlos Hyde this season, eventually finishing with 465 yards and two touchdowns on 105 carries — averaging 4.4 yards per attempt in the process.
And Bourne’s 257 receiving yards can’t be overlooked either.
Considering Lynch found two ready-impact players out of this bunch, we have to give the cumulative UDFA class a solid grade.
Grade: A
John Lynch showed some mastery right out of the gate, trading down from No. 2 to No. 3 with the Chicago Bears, adding a slew of draft picks and grabbing the player he wanted all along, former Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas.
Thomas’ offseason development was set back by a rule preventing him from joining NFL ranks until college classes were complete. And who knows if that stunted his growth in 2017.
With his first season complete, Thomas finished with 34 tackles and was tied for second on the defense with three sacks. But Pro Football Focus issued the 22 year old a 53.2 overall grade — lowest among San Francisco’s starting four defensive linemen.
Thomas flashed the promise that earned him consideration so high in the draft. But he also had edge-setting issues and, at times, took improper routes in his pass rush.
For a middle-of-the-pack first-round pick, this wouldn’t be so bad. Yet top-five players are those you’d like to see in consideration for Rookie of the Year awards.
Thomas won’t come close to that, unfortunately, but he does have a similar trajectory to fellow D-lineman DeForest Buckner, who dealt with similar issues his rookie year.
And Buckner is one of the best interior defenders in the NFL right now.
Let’s hope Thomas is continuing along the same trajectory, as his rookie season was OK at best.
Moving up to grab former Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster was the second of John Lynch’s impressive Round 1 draft moves from 2017.
And it’s pretty clear the 49ers landed a special player.
Foster finished the year with 59 tackles — second most on the team — despite missing six games on the year. And his 90.7 Pro Football Focus grade, ranked fifth among all qualifiers, is categorized as elite.
Reuben Foster is having an elite rookie season pic.twitter.com/AUaUbVkTvS
— PFF (@PFF) December 29, 2017
Foster would easily receive an A-plus grade if he was fully healthy. But injury concerns, including a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 1 that kept him out multiple weeks, knocks the grade down a bit.
Keep in mind, players aren’t worth much if they’re not on the field.
Injury concerns aside, Foster is one of the most promising players on San Francisco’s roster right now. And if he stays healthy, he’ll be one of the league’s best.
Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon might have gotten off to a rough start in training camp, and he started off his rookie campaign a frequent member of the 49ers’ inactive list.
By season’s end, though, Witherspoon appeared in 12 games and started nine of them as the team’s No. 1 cornerback. And his sharp ascendance allowed the Niners to part ways with the penalty-prone Rashard Robinson midseason.
Witherspoon finished 2017 with 28 tackles. His seven passes defended and two interceptions were both tied for the team lead.
But more impressively, Witherspoon finished with a respectable 81.1 overall grade on the year, per Pro Football Focus, highest among all San Francisco corners this season.
The sluggish start to the year is the only reason Witherspoon doesn’t receive an A-grade on the year, although it certainly appears the 49ers found a quality starter in the middle rounds.
It was a little bit of a shock to see the 49ers trade up to grab former Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard at the tail end of Round 3.
Especially when more than a few draft boards had Beathard ranked as a fifth- or sixth-round pick at best.
Beathard eventually took over starting duties from an ineffective Brian Hoyer, although the rookie wasn’t exactly better. His 54.9 completion percentage? Next to last among all qualifiers. His 69.2 passer rating? Same thing. Only Cleveland Browns QB DeShone Kizer was worse in both categories.
To be fair to Beathard, though, he likely wasn’t drafted to be a long-term starter. He’s a career backup, and the Niners have that position solved now behind their new No. 1, Jimmy Garoppolo. And that’s important.
If we were grading on guts and toughness, Beathard would get an A-plus.
But considering how high he was drafted, combined with the numbers produced, Beathard gets low marks his rookie season.
The 49ers had some internal conflict about former Utah running back Joe Williams. John Lynch initially wasn’t a fan, concerned about Williams’ dedication to football, although head coach Kyle Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner convinced Lynch otherwise.
We never got to see what Williams could have offered his rookie season. An ankle injury landed Williams on injured reserve at the conclusion of the preseason.
Prior to that, though, Williams dealt with inconsistency issues and fumbles during training camp and the preseason.
Those don’t help his stock. And while Lynch struck gold with rookie tailback Matt Breida, this particular selection isn’t looking too good right now.
If Williams comes back stronger and more consistent in 2018, all will be forgiven. So far, though, this pick is looking like the first major mistake in Lynch and Shanahan’s tenure.
If John Lynch made a mistake with Joe Williams, he more than made up for it with his two selections in Round 5, the first of which was former Iowa tight end George Kittle.
Kittle slipped late, as Iowa’s offense didn’t feature him much. As a pro, though, Kittle ended up turning into one of the more reliable pass catchers on San Francisco’s roster.
His 43 receptions and 515 receiving yards ranked third and second on the 49ers offense, respectively, those same numbers ended up being the highest out of any tight end selected in Round 5 or later in modern NFL history.
Niner Noise’s Chris Wilson broke down why Kittle’s rookie year was so special.
Related Story: 49ers TE George Kittle's rookie year was historic
Kittle had some drop issues this year. But his overall impact and historic first year more than makes up for it.
Simply put, he’s been a gem.
If George Kittle wasn’t enough of a weapon for you, rookie wide receiver Trent Taylor should be.
Taylor, who led college football in receiving yards in 2016 (1,803), continued his pass-catching ways with the 49ers his rookie season. In total, Taylor posted 43 catches and 430 yards — third and fourth, respectively — along with two touchdowns.
And while Taylor was a notable contributor out of the slot all season, some of his biggest games came after Jimmy Garoppolo took over starting duties in Week 13.
Especially on third down, as our friends Jeff Deeney of Pro Football Focus and Rob Lowder over at Niners Wire pointed out:
Per @PFF_Jeff, 63% of Trent Taylor's receptions this season came on third down. The league average for receivers is less than half that, at 30.5%. #49ers
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) January 2, 2018
San Francisco has a clear third-down weapon in Taylor. And while his smallish 5-foot-8 frame seems concerning, Taylor has already shown the knack to get open and make big plays.
The 49ers already had a quality starting nose tackle, Earl Mitchell, when they selected former Mississippi NT D.J. Jones in Round 6.
Jones, a stubby 6-foot-1, 319-pound defender, is still an ideal fit for the nose position in coordinator Robert Saleh’s defense. And while he only saw action in nine games and on 147 snaps, there is enough promise there to suggest he’ll be a worthy contributor down the line.
Jones had just eight tackles on the season and posted a 51.2 overall Pro Football Focus grade. When compared to Mitchell’s 56.5 mark, it’s clear Jones has a bit of a way to go before assuming any starting duties in base defenses.
But at worst, the Niners found themselves a likable backup for the defensive line’s interior.
The 49ers are still hurting for a true pass rush from the edge, even after selecting former Utah EDGE Pita Taumoepenu in Round 6.
Taumoepenu appeared on the Niners roster just twice this season, inactive for the remaining 14 games, and never saw a snap in the process.
That knocks Taumoepenu’s grade down a bit. But considering he was seen as a raw prospect needing development, it’s hard to call this selection a complete failure.
Especially when considering players taken in Round 5 or later rarely crack starting lineups, even immediate depth.
Well, this is an easy grade to dish out.
Former Miami (Fl.) defensive back Adrian Colbert went from being almost an afterthought at the tail end of the NFL Draft to a starting free safety in the 49ers defense.
And a high-quality one in just one year, making his draft tweet pretty indicative:
Every team that passes on me will regret it....mark my words
— ADRIAN COLBERT (@AdrianColbert27) April 29, 2017
Numerous injuries forced Colbert into a starting role, and he never looked back. He finished 2017 with 30 tackles and five passes defended, but that doesn’t tell the entire story. Colbert also flashed the necessary range and converging speed, combined with hard-hitting ways, necessary for a safety in a single-high system.
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So much so, his 78.9 overall Pro Football Focus grade ranked fourth best among all rookie safeties this season.
It’s hard to imagine Colbert losing out on his starting job now. He’s forced the 49ers to make some hard decisions about their starting lineup at safety entering 2018.
Next: 2018 NFL Draft: 5 Round 1 prospects the 49ers should watch
And that’s a great thing, which easily results in a top grade for the promising rookie.