49ers NFL Draft 2021: Niners get A-minus grade from FanSided

The 49ers generated a positive 2021 NFL Draft grade, according to our friends over at FanSided. But is it a fair assessment?

Most San Francisco 49ers fans are probably thrilled with the fact head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch went with North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance at No. 3 overall and not Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in that spot despite weeks of speculation and prediction suggesting Jones would be the pick.

If anything, that’s probably the biggest takeaway for Niners fans. The rest of their draft, which ultimately included eight players selected, surely was an afterthought aside from the handful of diehard NFL Draft nuts who were glued to the television and/or their smartphones over the three-day period.

It’s easy for fans to fall in love with their team’s draft class — hope springs eternal, after all, and that’s what the draft is entirely about.

Fortunately, FanSided’s Matt Lombardo also felt San Francisco’s draft efforts were well above average despite some questionable moves on day two.

The grade? An A-minus.

FanSided reinforces 49ers selection of Aaron Banks on Day 2 of NFL Draft

For reference, here are the players the 49ers drafted:

• QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
• G Aaron Banks, Notre Dame
• RB Trey Sermon, Ohio State
• DB Ambry Thomas, Michigan
• OT Jaylon Moore, Western Michigan
• CB Deommodore Lenoir, Oregon
• S Talanoa Hufanga, USC
• RB Elijah Mitchell, Louisiana-Lafayette

Lance was easy to tout as a win, according to Lombardo. But unlike many who saw Banks as a questionable move, the FanSided insider has much higher hopes:

"Already boasting one of the more reliable offensive lines in front of Lance, San Francisco added Notre Dame guard Aaron Banks in Round 2. Banks didn’t allow a sack last season and has the chance to be a plug-and-play starter."

If there’s room to be critical of the 49ers’ draft efforts, it stems from Rounds 2 and 3. True, the Niners did need to add some offensive line help, and doing so twice during the draft was a smart move in of itself.

Yet Banks isn’t so much of a zone-style lineman. He’s more of a power-run blocker, although his accolades in pass protection last year deserve to be touted. Perhaps one should merely question Banks’ fit, particularly in the wake of San Francisco passing completely on wide receivers and pass-rushers in the draft.

It’s also fair to question Sermon, too, as that might have been the biggest “luxury” move by the 49ers despite already having two running backs on their roster, Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., who can start.

Sermon does make for a potentially exciting addition, so there’s that to consider. But when factoring in some of the Niners’ other needs as mentioned earlier, perhaps Lombardo should have questioned that a bit.

Unless he’s seeing something many San Francisco fans aren’t, and that’ll surely be OK if both Banks and Sermon wind up living up to expectations.