Why the 49ers reached for punter Mitch Wishnowsky in the NFL Draft

The San Francisco 49ers became the first team in the 2019 NFL Draft to select a specialist, Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky, in Round 4. A reach? Yes. Was it justified? Yes. Here’s why.

At least the San Francisco 49ers managed to create slightly better value in Round 4 of the 2019 NFL Draft, trading down from the No. 104 overall pick with the Cincinnati Bengals, then grabbing Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky with the No. 110 overall selection.

Wishnowsky was the first specialist taken in the 2019 draft — awfully shocking, considering there was still a good chunk of slipping talent available to general manager John Lynch and Co.

And while the Niners had a need at the position, following punter Bradley Pinion’s departure in free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it’s not hard to understand why using a fourth-round selection on Wishnowsky was a complete and total reach.

Yet it’s a justifiable reach, too.

OK, this argument isn’t intended to make you love the 49ers’ selection of Wishnowsky in Round 4. Even if we grant Wishnowsky was college football’s best punter by far in this year’s NFL Draft, punters with nearly as good a track record would have been available in later rounds or as undrafted free agents.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch both admitted they felt Wishnowsky wasn’t going to be available in Round 5, with Lynch telling reporters such on day three of the NFL Draft:

"We felt like with all due respect to the other punters, [New England Patriots P] Jake Bailey is a kid right up the road who went to New England, who we thought highly of, but we thought Mitch Wishnowsky was a big-time prospect. I think [head coach] Kyle and I studied punters more this year than I think we ever will, and hopefully he’s the long-term answer. We’re talking like a 10-year guy. …You know, we had, we felt like had we not taken him there, he would have been taken, and so we moved back a little, gained some picks, and then took the pick, and we feel really good about it."

Shanahan also added:

"Everyone knows he’s the best punter in the draft, and when is he going to go, and you always want to take that as late as possible, so you feel the same way going in the fourth. You’d love to do it in the seventh, but I promise you we wouldn’t have gotten him if we tried to do it in the fifth. That’s why the Patriots traded up to take next guy in the fifth."

If you take both Lynch and Shanahan’s comments at face value, Wishnowsky wasn’t going to last into the fifth round, perhaps being grabbed by the Patriots at that point.

That alone doesn’t make the Niners’ selection here totally justifiable, though. Instead, one has to consider San Francisco’s special teams and defensive issues from a year ago. While there’s no one completely accurate way to quantify the two, it’s important to note 49ers opponents started offensive drives on their own 30.9-yard line — third worst among all defenses.

A lot goes into that number, including the Niners’ lack of turnovers on defense, as well as turning the ball over frequently on offense. Yet the hope is Wishnowsky will be able to influence that number positively, effectively pinning opposing returners deep within their own territory.

Combined with the number of other defensive additions Lynch and Co. added during the offseason, it’s hopeful San Francisco’s defense will jump away from being the league’s fifth-worst scoring unit like it was a year ago.

Remember, field position is an often-overlooked aspect. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less crucial.

The Niners are banking on improving their defense’s field position with the Wishnowsky selection. And while it cost a fourth-round NFL Draft pick, which is still a reach, the move is something which could easily pay off as soon as this upcoming season.

Call it a justifiable reach, even if it’s still a reach.