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San Francisco 49ers: Grading John Lynch’s first year as general manager

By Peter Panacy

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 10: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with general manager John Lynch after the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 10: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with general manager John Lynch after the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Niner Noise looks back at the efforts from San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and grades his work over the entire course of 2017. It’s safe to say he did a pretty good job, but where?

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch makes it pretty easy to continue criticizing the work by the team’s former GM, Trent Baalke, after what proved to be one of the quickest turnaround seasons in what initially looked like a long, long rebuild.

If you’ve read Niner Noise enough, you’ll know we haven’t been too kind to Baalke. In short, he’s a major reason why a once-powerful roster fell completely apart.

Now, especially after a five-game win streak to close out 2017, Lynch and the 49ers appear much further along in the rebuild than anyone could have thought. So much so, that analysts like Bleacher Report’s Chris Simms are projecting the Niners contending for the NFC West crown in 2018.

That’s an endorsement of Lynch if there ever was one.

We’ll go a bit further, though, and take a look at Lynch’s efforts from when he took over GM duties in late January of 2017 through the end of the year. We’ll look at his efforts in free agency right out of the gate, combined with the NFL Draft and other in-the-season roster moves made, assigning grades all the way.

Sure, it’s difficult to quantify everything here. Lynch received ample support from VP of Player Personnel, Adam Peters, as well as the insight from head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Regardless, let’s see how Lynch did in his first year in an NFL front office.