With the 2022 NFL Draft now officially in the books, we break down every single 49ers pick and see how they did with their draft haul for this season.
I love the San Francisco 49ers, and I love the NFL Draft. And now, with the 2022 NFL Draft in the books, we have to wait until the beginnings of training camp until we get to hear much about the team again.
But in the meantime, we still have the fallout from the draft as we analyze what the Niners did over the three days of the 2022 draft and the class they came away with as they try to improve the roster without a first-round pick.
Read More: 49ers 2022 NFL Draft tracker with pick-by-pick analysis
San Francisco came into the draft primarily needing to find help at safety and on the interior of the offensive line. Some depth at wide receiver was needed even if All-Pro Deebo Samuel wasn’t moved (he wasn’t, as the New York Jets gave a poor offer the 49ers rejected out of hand) while picks for the future were needed at EDGE, tackle and cornerback.
If there’s one certainty, however, it’s that the Niners always do things just a little differently than expected, and we certainly saw general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan do that with the relatively early selection of a running back, as well as doubling down in key positions. Safety wasn’t considered at all, although we’ll get to that in due course.
In such a weak draft, San Francisco strategized. It filled a need with its first pick before finding some weapons for quarterback Trey Lance with two third-round selections. The 49ers then proceeded to use Day 3 to find players in positions of need for the most part before using a “Mr. Irrelevant” pick on a wild card.
This year provided one of the more interesting draft weekends we’ve seen in quite some time, and it’s now time to take a look at how the 49ers did, grading out each one of their moves over the three-day event.
49ers Pick No. 61: EDGE Drake Jackson, USC
Given the 49ers’ defensive philosophy of wanting to rush only four players and use the remaining seven in coverage, it shouldn’t be a surprise they used yet another early resource to bolster it.
Dee Ford is practically done as a player and is only on the roster due to salary considerations, and Kerry Hyder is only a one-year stopgap at the position opposite Nick Bosa.
Drake Jackson is a fine pick at the end of the second round as he fits both the range and need, and he certainly has the potential to be elite down the road. He will require some development to fill out his frame and improve his run defense, so Jackson isn’t likely to start this upcoming season and instead might be used more as a third-down specialist.
Jackson had five sacks and eight tackles for loss this season to go with an interception and a forced fumble in 2021. He never took the next step as far as production goes, but the physical gifts are apparent.
Notably, he’s very fast for his 6-foot-4, 250-pound frame, and his athleticism allows him to beat defenders both inside and outside. He’s a bit reliant on this athleticism, however, and doesn’t have the array of moves Bosa had coming into the NFL.
But that’s alright because Jackson can learn those things being in the same team as Bosa. The rookie will need to get a bit stronger, too, but a year in an NFL weight program will sort that out. The important thing is he has the room to fill out his frame a little more without sacrificing speed, which will help him be a three-down player.
The 49ers will need to be a bit patient, but they got their draft off to an excellent start. If Jackson develops, we’ll be looking at this as a massive steal.
Grade: B+
49ers Pick No. 93: Running Back Tyrion Davis-Price, LSU
Here is the traditional wild card pick the Niners always seem to throw at us, and once again it’s a running back relatively early in the draft.
And honestly, I’m not sure I get this one at all. Running back wasn’t a huge position of need, and Kyle Shanahan has the talent of taking cheap free-agent/late-round/UDFA running backs off the scrap heap and making them look good. Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, Elijah Mitchell, JaMycal Hasty, etc. have all looked good in the scheme out of nowhere.
Ironically, it’s 2021 draft pick Trey Sermon that’s been the most unimpressive of the lot, and that doesn’t necessarily bode well.
I like Tyrion Davis-Price as a tough runner who has an underrated burst of speed, but the third round was way too early for someone who was a consensus Day 3 pick before the draft.
It’s not all doom and gloom, as his tough running could serve him well as a goal-line back, and he can take on carries that’ll allow other running backs to stay fresh, but it just seems like he’ll be destined to be lost in the shuffle given how Mitchell burst onto the scene last year.
We’ll call this one a “wait and see,” and the grade is less of a judgment on him at this stage, but there were other needs that had to be filled. San Francisco could have taken him much later on, which would have made more sense.
Grade: D
49ers Pick No. 105: Wide Receiver Danny Gray, SMU
One month ago, I had Danny Gray listed as one of my prospects that could be a Day 3 steal for the 49ers, especially as he had the traits to make the wide receiver room in San Francisco complete.
The last pick of Round 3 is close enough, therefore I’m obligated to shower this pick with high praise.
Gray gives the Niners the deep threat they’ve been coveting since Marquise Goodwin and will be a big help in the development of quarterback Trey Lance, as the 49ers look to add in the vertical passing element we haven’t seen for a while.
Gray is a potential steal, and I’m quoting myself:
"Danny Gray had 49 receptions for 803 yards and nine touchdowns last season for SMU. He helped himself at the combine by running quickly with a 4.33 time in the 40-yard dash. Gray projects mostly as a slot receiver at 6-foot-0 and 186 pounds, but he has some mismatch potential on shorter receivers as well as anyone taller but slower. He hasn’t gotten much attention, but Gray looms as a potential steal as a productive receiver with potential for the next level."
Yards after the catch is something very valued in San Francisco’s scheme, and good luck chasing Gray in space. He’s not restricted to running deep, he can perform to the scheme as well.
I love this pick a lot. He’s also got untapped potential when it comes to the return game, so he could be a big threat there as well. But at the very least, he’s going to become a favorite target for Lance, as long as he can rein in those drops.
Grade: A
49ers Pick No. 134: Tackle/Guard Spencer Burford, UTSA
Remember when I said Danny Gray was on my list of potential sleeper picks? Spencer Burford was on that list, too, meaning I once again am obligated to like this pick.
Burford to me was a very underrated prospect who can play any position on the offensive line other than center. He’s not someone who wow you with strength and speed, but his technique and instincts are well-honed, and he possesses underrated lateral movement.
It remains to be seen what the best position is for Burford going forward, but he fits the 49ers’ mentality of picking offensive linemen who can play multiple positions.
At 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds, Burford might be a bit too undersized to be a left tackle in the NFL, so guard might be the best fit for him. Aaron Banks will be the frontrunner to take that role, but if center Alex Mack does retire, that might necessitate Daniel Brunskill shifting over to center, which would open another spot at guard.
A lot also depends on Burford’s strength. He’s not what you would call a mauler, but he might be able to build some more power in an NFL conditioning program. If Burford gets his strength where it needs to be to match his impressive athleticism, the Niners may potentially get away with him being an undersized left tackle.
Where Burford plays on the O-line remains a mystery, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he competes early to start on the interior and perhaps develops into left tackle Trent Williams’ understudy.
Grade: A
49ers Pick No. 172: Cornerback Samuel Womack, Toledo
The 49ers started Day 3 addressing the need on the interior offensive line, but with K’Waun Williams gone, the team needed to address depth at the nickel corner role, and that’s what it did with Samuel Womack out of Toledo.
While Womack wasn’t high on my radar as a draftable player, it made a lot of sense to bolster the depth here. Womack’s 4.39 40-yard time probably stands out primarily for him as a player. He’s also got experience as a five-year player at Toledo and had a whopping 37 passes defended in the last three seasons to go along with four touchdowns in that same time span.
Early on, Womack might need to start as a gunner on special teams, given his speed, but his tackling is a bit of a question mark. He fielded exactly one kick return in his entire collegiate career, but similar to Gray, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility San Francisco decides to give him a shot there.
Womack addresses a need, but I don’t expect him to feature heavily this season. Nonetheless, you can never have too much depth, and his collegiate production, as well as speed, demonstrates at least some potential in the NFL.
A lot will depend on his special teams prowess and his patience. That’ll be an interesting pick to look at three years down the line, and I can’t grade it highly, as I didn’t think he would be drafted.
But it’s a Day 3 pick, so you can’t be too harsh either.
Grade: C+
49ers Pick No. 187: Tackle/Guard Nick Zakelj, Fordham
Another versatile prospect who can’t play center? This pick is a bit redundant, but I actually like this because Nick Zakelj could have been chosen very early on Day 3 or even snuck into the end of the third round with few complaints, and the 49ers need extra depth on the offensive line.
While I would say Spencer Burford is more of a guard who can play tackle, Zakelj is more of the opposite in that he’s a tackle who can play guard. Standing at 6-foot-6 and 316 pounds, he has the size needed more than Burford to play at left tackle and be an understudy to Trent Williams.
Zakelj is one of those home-run swings from a small school I love in a Day 3 prospect. Zakelj never took on much in the way of elite opposition at Fordham, but his game film against Nebraska showed he could hold his own against Division I opponents.
On top of that, Zakelj is powerful. But where he needs to improve, if he does stay at tackle, is to develop more lateral ability and to set his weight properly when engaging defenders so he isn’t knocked off balance. While from a physical standpoint, Zakelj is better than Burford to be a tackle, the latter has him beat in this regard.
A lot of the deficiencies in his game would be mitigated by a move to guard, so there is that option for him if he can’t be a tackle at the pro level. Blocking depth is absolutely key to winning a Super Bowl.
I’ll be interested to see how his technique develops under Williams. If Zakelj corrects the deficiencies in his technique, then this could be a seriously good steal and a starter at left tackle, but even if he doesn’t, he can still project to be a solid guard or a swing tackle, which is perfectly fine for a pick in the sixth round.
Grade: B+
49ers Pick No. 220: Defensive Tackle Kalia Davis, Central Florida
I have to admit, this is probably the pick I was the most “meh” on in this entire draft class. I certainly didn’t think Kalia Davis is a horrible prospect by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn’t sure of the upside here.
But doing some research into writing this article, there is some potential beneath the surface here, and Davis could develop into more than a generic interior defensive lineman who offers no presence in the pass rush.
The big strength here is Davis is a big run stuffer at 6-foot-2 and 310 pounds, and I think he fits the range as a two-down defender. The downside is he’s coming off a torn ACL, which affected his draft stock because he didn’t play in 2020 either, due to electing to opt out during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the opportunity to contribute is there.
Davis needs to build a bit more strength to be a consistent player, however, and his ability to hold up in the trenches right away I’m not so sure about. Similar to early pick Drake Johnson, however, there is some interesting potential to be had if he does fill out his frame.
The wild card is exactly where he fits in terms of his pass-rushing. Davis is a former linebacker and does have some surprising athletic ability hidden in his huge frame, and he showed some pass-rushing acumen with a sack in five games this season and three sacks in his previous season in 2019. He also had 12.5 tackles for loss in that timeframe.
Davis will probably pan out to be a big body to absorb the run, but there’s a definite upside here. I’ll be interested to see how he responds to training camp if he’s ready to go after the ACL tear.
Grade: B-
49ers Pick No. 221: Cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn State
Tariq Castro-Fields is a bit of an enigma in terms of where he should be as a prospect, but this is precisely the sort of gamble I love to see in the final rounds.
Castro-Fields was seen as a Day 2 selection in the preseason, and if he had a big final season at Penn State, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility he could have snuck into Thursday night as a first-round pick. Instead, he had a very poor final season with the Nittany Lions, and we’ve seen him fall way down the board.
Castro-Fields has some obvious limitations with his game. He isn’t a ballhawk, having no interceptions the past two seasons (albeit with the 2020 season interrupted with only three games played by Castro-Fields), and he’s a very poor tackler. As a 23-year-old rookie, it’s safe to ask how much growing he has left as a prospect too.
But there is a lot to like about Castro-Fields as a potential steal. He continues the trend in this draft class of being a speedy prospect with a 4.38 40-yard time, he plays fast and he’s good in run support.
His limitation with his speed, however, is he isn’t very good, athletically, despite the speed. And his change of direction is below par.
I like his tenacity and willingness to play any role asked of him, however, so maybe he can carve out a role on special teams while the 49ers try to develop him.
With his lack of athleticism, though, he could maybe consider a move to safety.
Grade: C+
49ers Pick No. 262: Quarterback Brock Purdy, Iowa State
Mr. Irrelevant is… a quarterback? Well, put me in the rather large category of people who didn’t see this one coming.
Brock Purdy, of course, has no hope of unseating Trey Lance, but he put together a rather decent resume while at Iowa State and possesses some decent abilities to perhaps stick around as a backup quarterback for San Francisco, which admittedly will soon become a position of need.
Purdy reminds me a lot of former backup quarterback Nick Mullens in that he’s a smart and accurate quarterback who doesn’t offer much in the way of a vertical passing threat. This isn’t a huge problem, however, as the main focus of the offense in San Francisco is based more on getting receivers in space and allowing them to get the yards themselves.
Purdy could do this quite easily. He’s a functional dual-threat player with 19 rushing touchdowns in his collegiate career, and he took decent care of the ball with 81 touchdowns compared to just 33 interceptions.
You can see the limitations that make him a developmental prospect, however. He needs to work through progressions better, and he’s not someone who delivers the ball with a lot of velocity.
Backups are limited, however, and the important thing is he knows how to get the ball out with smart throws, and his overall skill set has him as a decent fit in this offense. He’s a practice squad quarterback and won’t beat out Nate Sudfeld, but weirder things have happened.
All in all, if Purdy can make the backup quarterback role his own, this won’t be a bad Mr. Irrelevant pick at all.
Grade: C
49ers overall 2022 NFL Draft summary
In short, this was a decent draft class from the 49ers, considering they had no first-round selection. They filled many areas of need, added much-needed depth and there are certainly a few home-run swings they made in the later rounds.
The main concern is the lack of a pick at safety or at center, although in the short term, this can be excused if Alex Mack and Jaquiski Tartt return to the team.
If they do, then it should be just enough to hold those needs over until next season.
The only pick I didn’t particularly like was Tyrion Davis-Price, but maybe the Niners have a plan for him where he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. I would hate to see current starter Elijah Mitchell handcuffed from getting more carries, but it’s important not to clock up the mileage on him too quickly with too many carries.
I’m not sure of the need for Brock Purdy either, but I’m not going to care too much with the very last pick in the draft. All in all, we’ve seen selections that will make some big impacts in 2023 and beyond if they fulfill their potential and fill important backup roles this year, even if they don’t start right away.
Recap:
- Pick No. 61: Drake Jackson, EDGE, USC (B+ Grade)
- Pick No. 93: Tyrion Davis-Price, Running Back, LSU (D Grade)
- Pick No. 105: Danny Gray, Wide Receiver, SMU (A Grade)
- Pick No. 134: Spencer Burford, Guard/Tackle, UTSA (A Grade)
- Pick No. 172: Samuel Womack, Cornerback, Toledo (C+ Grade)
- Pick No. 187: Nick Zakelj, Tackle/Guard, Fordham (B+ Grade)
- Pick No. 220: Kalia Davis, Defensive Tackle, Central Florida (B- Grade)
- Pick No. 221: Tariq Castro-Fields, Cornerback, Penn State (C+ Grade)
- Pick No. 262: Brock Purdy, Quarterback, Iowa State (C Grade)
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Grading being more dependent on earlier rounds than later rounds, the Davis-Price pick stands out as an outlier from what I thought were very good selections that filled a need. I’m not excited by the cornerback picks either, as I didn’t think Womack would be drafted, and I’m not sure if Tariq Castro-Fields has any extra to his game we didn’t see at Penn State, but I don’t hate them either.
What I do like was the initial pick of Drake Jackson and the picks to shore up the offensive line. I think Danny Gray is going to be a potent weapon, while I’m intrigued to see how Kalia Davis develops.
The running back pick was glaringly unnecessary but I think every other pick was at least OK, which could either fill a need or provide some depth.
I can’t wait to see these guys at training camp.
Overall Grade: B