San Francisco 49ers: Dos and don’ts for the 2020 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers are fortunate to have one of the league’s more complete rosters entering 2020, but they need to navigate a careful path in the upcoming NFL Draft.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch doesn’t have a lot of problems to solve in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.
But the problems he’s facing are notable.
The Niners are still short a true No. 1 wide receiver after using second-round picks in back-to-back seasons to select Dante Pettis and Deebo Samuel in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Samuel has panned out, while Pettis is dangerously close to “bust” status.
San Francisco also traded away its Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, which netted the team the No. 13 overall pick in the draft, yet leaves a glaring hole within the middle of the defensive line.
Short- and long-term cornerback needs are there, and there’s a worry veteran left tackle Joe Staley could retire before the regular season, leaving yet another major hole to be filled along the offensive line.
Picking first at No. 13, again at No. 31 and then not currently slated to select again until Round 5, Lynch will need to at least hit on those first two selections if there’s no way to accrue some additional draft capital via a draft-day trade.
Yet that’s one of Lynch’s many options in the NFL Draft.
If there was a to-do list, exploring those trades would be on it. But there’s also a “not to do” list out there, which needs to be posted right next to Lynch’s draft board later this month.
Niner Noise breaks down what should be on both, describing the dos and don’ts for San Francisco in this year’s NFL Draft.