49ers biggest winners, losers from surprising 2022 NFL Draft class

The 49ers made nine selections in the 2022 NFL Draft, which means there’ll ultimately be some winners and losers on the Niners roster right away.

You’d be justified in admitting the San Francisco 49ers’ 2022 NFL Draft class felt a little underwhelming in comparison to previous years.

After all, considering the Niners didn’t own a first-round pick this season, all the pomp and hype of day one simply passed San Francisco by. And while the 49ers made a great selection with their first pick of this year’s draft, grabbing USC EDGE Drake Jackson at No. 61 overall, the subsequent selection of LSU running back Tyrion Davis-Price sure left a lot of fans scratching their heads.

In total, the 49ers brought aboard nine prospects via the 2022 draft, additionally inking some pretty high-profile undrafted free agents, too.

Whether or not any or all of these first-year players pan out to desired expectations is anyone’s guess, but the moves (and non-moves) do reveal some pretty notable winners and losers stemming from the three-day event in Vegas.

And there are even winners and losers on the Niners roster who weren’t impacted by San Francisco’s own moves, rather other ones from around the league.

Let’s take a look at which 49ers won or lost in a big way over the course of the 2022 NFL Draft.

49ers winner: Wide receiver Danny Gray

Some probably viewed the Niners’ third-round selection of SMU wide receiver Danny Gray as a bit of a reach, and it wasn’t hard to find big boards and mocks suggesting he’d be a day-three pick, going no higher than Round 4 at best.

However, a lot of that is contingent upon his ideal fit. And the speedy Gray, who ran a blazing-fast 4.33 40-yard time at the NFL Scouting Combine and can match that with game speed, just found himself in a unique role in a tailor-made offense for his skill set.

San Francisco has two bona fide wideouts in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. In recent seasons, however, it has failed to identify and develop a field-stretching wideout with that kind of speed, and its quarterbacking efforts from Jimmy Garoppolo weren’t going to take advantage of that anyway.

With strong-armed signal-caller Trey Lance under center, Gray should have a leg up on seeing some serious yards-per-reception metrics as the downfield No. 3 receiver.

Even if the rookie’s total target share will likely be relatively low in 2022. Still, it’s a great situation for him.

49ers loser: Running back Trey Sermon

The 49ers’ third-round selection of Tyrion Davis-Price could and should be considered a questionable move, as there was still plenty of running back value to be had on day three of the draft. And going this route wholly bucked the notion of head coach Kyle Shanahan finding late-round gems at the position anyway.

Regardless, Davis-Price now finds himself amid a crowded offensive backfield, including last year’s two rookies, Elijah Mitchell and Trey Sermon.

Mitchell, who rushed for 963 yards in 2021, isn’t going anywhere and should be viewed as safe, provided he stays healthy. Sermon, however, can’t quite say the same despite being a third-round selection himself a year ago.

In total, Sermon rushed for a mere 167 yards last season and found himself relegated to either the No. 3 or No. 4 role on the depth chart behind Mitchell, Jeff Wilson Jr. and JaMycal Hasty, all of whom will also be back contending for a roster spot during training camp.

Sure, the Niners could still have plans for Sermon, and Davis-Price’s addition could have a more detrimental impact on someone like Wilson or Hasty instead. Plus, considering how injuries have affected this bunch anyway, it might be OK to stockpile at the position.

Regardless, using such a high pick on Davis-Price doesn’t suggest a ton of confidence in the second-year pro right now.

49ers winner: EDGE Nick Bosa

A year ago, San Francisco recorded 48 sacks, which was tied for fifth-best in the NFL. Of those, 15.5 came from Pro Bowl EDGE Nick Bosa.

No other player on the 49ers roster registered seven or more, though, meaning Bosa had to effectively shoulder the load here. As such, he was frequently the No. 1 focal point for opponents’ blocking schemes.

Good thing the 2022 NFL Draft was deep with pass-rushers, and the Niners got a promising up-and-comer with Drake Jackson.

Sure, Jackson didn’t boast the stats to suggest elite-level production, having just 12.5 over three years with the Trojans. He also struggled with some inconsistency, too, frequently changing his weight as USC frequently adjusted its defensive alignments.

However, as far as bend and twitch, Jackson can be elite. Working with defensive line coach Kris Kocurek should help get the most out of the rookie, too, meaning Bosa won’t likely have to face quite as many chip blocks and double teams as he did a year ago.

San Francisco’s pass rush was at its most effective point back in 2019 when both Bosa and oft-injured EDGE Dee Ford were on the field at the same time.

With Jackson now poised to take over Ford’s role (and more), Bosa’s prowess should be felt even greater in 2022 and beyond.

49ers loser: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel… for now

For weeks, and essentially through the middle of Round 1, almost all the talk surrounding the 49ers was whether or not they’d move Deebo Samuel for a lofty trade package of some kind, surely involving at least a first-round draft pick plus additional selections.

With each passing pick, however, no deal materialized. At least not for Samuel.

There was plenty of wide receiver movement, though, with the Baltimore Ravens trading Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals, then the Tennessee Titans shipping off Pro Bowler A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brown, who shares an agent with Samuel, subsequently inked a four-year extension with Philly worth up to $100 million with $57 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

In a way, the Niners win this. They now have a benchmark for helping determine what an appropriate extension should be for Samuel. Brown setting that part of the market helps a lot. And, more importantly, Samuel isn’t going anywhere.

That’s why Samuel loses, at least for now, as he didn’t get his trade wish, and the draft would have been the last feasible time he could have been moved.

Eventually, though, he’ll win when San Francisco finally gets around to issuing him a big-buck extension.

49ers winner: Talanoa Hufanga, George Odum and Tarvarius Moore

The 49ers could have easily selected a safety at any relatively early point in the NFL Draft, and fans would have highlighted it as a great pickup, filling a need in the wake of veteran defensive back Jaquiski Tartt leaving for the free-agent market earlier this offseason.

With Tartt still unsigned, the void remained throughout the draft. Yet the Niners made no such move despite there being some notable safeties available to them throughout the draft.

OK, so San Francisco did grab former Texas A&M safety Leon O’Neal Jr., and he could easily wind up stealing the strong safety spot as an in-the-box option.

But, according to Kyle Shanahan, safety wasn’t exactly a priority during the draft:

Let’s make this clear: Safeties Talanoa Hufanga, Tarvarius Moore and George Odum aren’t exactly Tartt-like players. All three are generally viewed as more special teams contributors instead of full-time defensive players, so that’s something to monitor.

Yet the biggest reason why all three of them win is they’ll have a chance to secure that starting role heading into offseason workouts.

It would have been much tougher if the 49ers grabbed a safety early in the draft.

49ers loser: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo

After failing to trade him at the start of the league new year last March, the Niners’ next best chance to move Jimmy Garoppolo would have been right smack in the middle of the NFL Draft, perhaps to a team that either chose to pass on, or ultimately couldn’t land one of the few not-so-hot quarterbacking prospects in this year’s class.

Two teams, the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers, were thought to make this position a priority, though. And both also could have been in the market for disgruntled Cleveland Browns signal-caller Baker Mayfield, too.

San Francisco isn’t going to trade Garoppolo within the NFC West, so we can cross the Hawks off the list of would-be suitors, essentially leaving Carolina as the only legitimate option.

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However, once the Panthers selected Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral in Round 3 of the draft, the likelihood of them sending off some sort of trade package to the 49ers for Garoppolo diminished almost to the point of nonexistence.

Garoppolo isn’t going to hang onto a backup role with the Niners, certainly not at his current projected cost of $27 million in 2022. And even though he still has employment, the fact Carolina won’t be making a move for him means he’s almost guaranteed to lose out on millions of dollars this year.

Tough break for him, as he’s effectively left with Mayfield as the two starters still standing in the musical-chairs quarterback carousel that took place all offseason.