49ers 2020 NFL Draft: 3 things we learned from Round 1

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Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk #2 of the Arizona State Sun Devils (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers made a lot of noise in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and their strategy provides insight into how the team feels heading into the 2020 season. Let’s take a look at three things we learned from their first-round draft moves.

Heading into Thursday night’s first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, most of us were pretty sure that the San Francisco 49ers needed a wide receiver to replace now-Saints pass-catcher Emmanuel Sanders and possibly trade back into the mid-rounds of day two.

For the first several picks, the draft seemed to be going as expected, with players like LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Ohio State EDGE rusher Chase Young and cornerback Jeff Okudah going off the board in the first three picks.

In fact, everything seemed to be moving along rather chalk, until 49ers general manager John Lynch threw the first wrench into the proceedings by trading the No. 13 overall pick to Tampa Bay in exchange for the No. 14 overall pick and the No. 117 overall pick.

The move seemed necessary, as the 49ers had no day two picks heading into the draft, and while the fourth rounder they received from Tampa wasn’t a massive gain, it did give Lynch firepower to continue to move around the draft board if he so chose to do so.

With Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and Oklahoma wideout CeeDee Lamb still available after the Bucs took Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs with their new no. 13 pick, it seemed like head coach Kyle Shanahan adding a top receiver to his cadre of pass-catchers was inevitable.

And then the Niners took South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw with No. 14 overall, essentially a direct replacement for former 49er DeForest Buckner, adding to their slew of first-round defensive lineman with the likes of Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Arik Armstead, and Solomon Thomas.

Then 49ers fans settled in for a long wait until the team’s next scheduled pick at No. 31 overall. That is until Lynch pulled off his second trade of the first round, moving up from No. 31 to No. 25, previously owned by the Minnesota Vikings, in exchange for the 4th round pick they got from Tampa and No. 176 overall.

The Niners used that pick to draft Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, adding to a receiving corps that lost Sanders during free agency.

So that’s a lot going on for just one round and it gives us some insight in terms of how what the 49ers think about their roster heading into 2020. Here are three lessons we learned from their first day of the 2020 NFL Draft.