49ers NFL Draft: San Francisco’s best, worst moves in 2020

By most accounts, the San Francisco 49ers had an outstanding 2020 NFL Draft despite a limit on the number of picks, yet let’s break down both the best and worst draft-day moves.

Despite entering the 2020 NFL Draft with only seven picks, the San Francisco 49ers just underwent one of the craziest and provocative draft efforts in recent memory.

It’s hard to find a spot to begin, especially considering the Niners ended up replacing one perennial Pro Bowler with another, watching left tackle Joe Staley officially announce his retirement only minutes after trading for Washington Redskins tackle Trent Williams, managed to solve two of the team’s most-pressing roster needs in Round 1 and then filled out the back end of the roster with players having an excellent chance to make the regular-season squad.

All done by the way of additional trades, which cleared cap space by moving running back Matt Breida and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, and this all ended up meaning the 49ers never once used one of their own issued draft picks over the three-day event.

Catch all that? No? Well, for starters, here are the newest members of San Francisco’s 2020 NFL Draft class:

• Round 1: DT Javon Kinlaw
• Round 1: WR Brandon Aiyuk
• Round 5: OL Colton McKivitz
• Round 6: TE Charlie Woerner
• Round 7: WR Jauan Jennings

Kinlaw helps alleviate the loss of defensive tackle DeForest Buckner earlier this offseason, while Aiyuk figures to pick up where veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders left off when he departed to the New Orleans Saints in free agency.

As for the rest? Well, there’s a good chance they’ll make the 55-man roster, since that’s a similar approach general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan went with a year ago.

Still, the end of the draft mandates looking at the best, worst and most provocative picks by San Francisco in what was otherwise a tremendous draft haul.