Pro Football Focus gives 49ers’ 2019 NFL Draft grade a C-plus

The folks over at Pro Football Focus wrapped up reviews for each team’s 2019 NFL Draft efforts, and the San Francisco 49ers came in at the middle of the pack.

OK, well Pro Football Focus didn’t technically give the San Francisco 49ers a C-plus grade for their efforts in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Instead, it was an “above average” mark.

Yet for those who have gone through elementary school, above average almost always translates to a C-plus grade. Good is a B-grade, while excellent is an A-grade.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s break down why our friends at PFF elected to give the Niners this grade.

San Francisco’s 2019 draft class, which can be found here, certainly had its share of question marks. Grabbing Ohio State EDGE Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick was about as no-brainer a selection general manager John Lynch and Co. could have made. Targeting South Carolina wide receiver Deebo Samuel in Round 2 had plenty of merits, too.

That’s where PFF seemed to cut off the clear-cut level of understanding:

"Day 2:San Francisco grabbed one of the class’ best route-runners in Deebo Samuel to start Day 2 and then followed that up with a much rawer prospect in Baylor’s Jalen Hurd. Built a bit like a running back, Samuel is a freak after the catch that can ruin defenses in the short and intermediate areas of the field. Hurd, on the other hand, is a former running back turned big slot receiver that has insane measurables but will need polish at the next level.Day 3:Virginia’s Tim Harris, though he’s a bit of an older prospect, is a great value pick for the 49ers at pick No. 198. Virginia’s Bryce Hall will get ample attention as part of next year’s class, but his teammate, Harris, is also a very talented cornerback prospect. He earned the 11th-best coverage grade (87.1) in the class this past season."

Hurd, 6-foot-5, does have a lot of traits head coach Kyle Shanahan can deploy in different ways. When considering San Francisco’s red-zone offense ranked dead last in touchdown efficiency last year, Hurd’s addition makes a bit more sense.

Yet things got a little more provocative in Round 4, when the Niners added former BYU punter Mitch Wishnowsky at No. 110 overall.

Wishnowsky was the top specialist taken in the draft, and he’ll replace San Francisco’s previous punter, Bradley Pinion, who left in free agency for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Apparently, according to Lynch, the New England Patriots were also hotly interested in Wishnowsky.

So, perhaps, that pick is a bit better explained.

PFF does mention Harris, who’ll have a shot to compete for the No. 4 boundary cornerback spot behind Richard Sherman, Ahkello Witherspoon and Jason Verrett.

Perhaps PFF should have paid a bit more attention to the tight end San Francisco brought aboard, Stanford’s Kaden Smith, who’ll compete to be the No. 2 option behind Pro Bowler George Kittle in 2018.

Smith has a lot of upside, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him deployed in dual tight end sets this season.