San Francisco 49ers: Ranking 5 worst first-round NFL Draft picks since 2010
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: Wide Receiver A.J. Jenkins
Drafted by 49ers 30th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft
San Francisco’s 2012 NFL Draft class under Trent Baalke could be considered the worst Niners draft class of all time. And if it’s not, it’s certainly up there and produced plenty of rather-would-forget players for the franchise.
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Including the No. 1 player on this list, former Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins.
Granted, late first-round draft picks don’t always pan out. And many draft pundits at the time thought Jenkins should have been, at best, a third-round selection instead of going late in Round 1.
It wasn’t just Jenkins failing, it was how he failed and when. Jenkins struggled in the preseason his rookie year, failing to secure a worthwhile job, and his struggles were emphasized when the 49ers were hurting for wide receiver help to assist then-No. 1 wideout Michael Crabtree en route to the Super Bowl.
Jenkins managed to get into three games his rookie year, though. And he was even targeted once, a pass he dropped.
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San Francisco didn’t wait around to see if Jenkins was merely struggling with the transition from the college ranks to the pros. The Niners jettisoned him to the Kansas City Chiefs a year into his rookie deal, and Jenkins was out of football by 2015.