Niner Noise
FanSided

5 burning questions for the 49ers after the 2019 NFL Draft

By Peter Panacy

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 25: Nick Bosa of Ohio State with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being announced as the second pick in the first round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 25: Nick Bosa of Ohio State with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being announced as the second pick in the first round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WA – NOVEMBER 18: Punter Mitch Wishnowsky #33 of the Utah Utes rushes for a first down on a fake punt play against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – NOVEMBER 18: Punter Mitch Wishnowsky #33 of the Utah Utes rushes for a first down on a fake punt play against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Did San Francisco Reach for a Punter?

In 2015, then-general manager Trent Baalke elected to move on from perennial Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee, grabbing former Clemson punter Bradley Pinion in Round 5 of the NFL Draft that year.

Pinion was the first specialist taken in 2015 and would serve as San Francisco’s punter and kickoff specialist through 2018, eventually leaving through free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019.

So, on something of a positive note, John Lynch wasn’t aiming to actively replace an on-roster punter, choosing to grab Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky in Round 4 of this year’s draft.

Still, it’s an interesting pick.

Lynch managed to gain a bit more value, thankfully, moving down from No. 104 in the round with the Cincinnati Bengals, using the No. 110 pick to grab Wishnowsky. Like Pinion in 2015, Wishnowsky was the first specialist taken in the draft.

That alone could suggest a reach, and many probably will continue to think it was. Yet both Lynch and Kyle Shanahan seemed to think the New England Patriots, who eventually traded up for Stanford kicker Jake Bailey the following round, were hotly eyeing Wishnowsky, too.

If field position is important, Wishnowsky isn’t a total reach. If the Niners could have secured a punter nearly as decent as Wishnowsky — a sixth- or seventh-round pick, maybe an undrafted free agent — thereby saving a Round 4 pick for something else, it is a reach.

So, was using a fourth-round pick on Wishnowsky a reach? Or was it justifiable?

Yes.