Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: 10 worst NFL Draft picks of the decade

By Titus Briseno

Solomon Thomas of Stanford with Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell after being picked #3 overall by the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
Solomon Thomas of Stanford with Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell after being picked #3 overall by the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /
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Joe Williams, 49ers
Running back Joe Williams #32 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

No. 9: Running Back Joe Williams, Round 4, 2017 NFL Draft

Chalk this one up to inexperience.

The 2017 NFL Draft was the first of the head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch era, and it brought several learning experiences. Drafting Joe Williams, a running back out of Utah, might have been the biggest of them all.

Williams took a year off from college football for personal reasons, but came back to finish his college career with the Utah Utes. He rushed for over 1,400 yard and 10 touchdowns during his senior season, which was enough for the 49ers to take a flier on the back.

What is strange about this pick is the fact Shanahan and Lynch had pulled Williams’ name off of their draft board. It wasn’t until Lynch made a phone call to Williams that the 49ers felt they had to make the pick. A decision that surely carried some weight of regret.

Williams recorded no regular-season carries with the 49ers and was the first Lynch pick to be cut by the team a year later.