San Francisco 49ers: 3 mistakes Kyle Shanahan has made so far in 2021

No. 3: Improperly using 49ers’ early NFL Draft assets

Many an NFL mistake won’t be felt for weeks, sometimes months or even years down the road.

Yet this is precisely what Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers are realizing, namely with their efforts from the 2021 NFL Draft.

OK, looking back at the draft is old history now. And it’ll forever be highlighted by the aggressive move to get up to No. 3 overall for the rights to select quarterback Trey Lance. More on Lance later.

Specifically, let’s look at Rounds 2 and 3 from this year where the Niners came away with offensive guard Aaron Banks, running back Trey Sermon and cornerback Ambry Thomas.

Thomas, inactive in Weeks 2 and 3 and only active in Week 4 because of attrition at the position, has been a disappointment. Sermon, meanwhile, is effectively getting carries because all the team’s other options at the position to kick off the regular season are injured.

Banks, meanwhile, has been a healthy scratch all four weeks. Not good.

Let’s focus on Banks for a second. Initially viewed as a non-fit in Shanahan’s outside-zone offense, the Niners were in clear need of cornerback depth and had options available in the second round, yet they elected to pass on someone who could have been a plug-and-play starter.

See the Los Angeles Chargers’ Asante Samuel Jr. as a case example.

By neglecting a need, followed by San Francisco losing corners Jason Verrett, Josh Norman and K’Waun Williams to injury, Shanahan’s decision to go with Banks is now haunting his defense in a big way.