Grades for every 49ers 2022 NFL Draft rookie through first 8 games

Perhaps the 49ers haven’t seen as much production from their 2022 NFL Draft class as they initially thought, but there have been some standouts.

There were plenty of reasons for fans to be overly hyped about the San Francisco 49ers’ 2022 NFL Draft class.

For starters, the Niners were viewed as having gotten a steal in USC EDGE Drake Jackson toward the end of Round 2, as some thought Jackson had plenty of first-round talent. And while one of San Francisco’s two third-round picks was largely seen as a bit strange, the other was viewed as a perfect fit.

And those day-three sleepers are always going to be special, right?

It’s nothing new for any NFL Draft class, honestly, and no team is immune to the overhype and excitement. But, with half a regular season in the books and the 49ers gearing up for Weeks 10 through 18, let’s look at each one of the Niners’ 2022 NFL draftees (who are still on the roster, of course) and dish out grades.

Even though those grades have to be weighed a bit with respect to draft position. That’s only fair, right?

49ers NFL Draft picks in Round 2: EDGE Drake Jackson

No San Francisco fan should have been surprised at general manager John Lynch using the team’s first pick on yet another defensive lineman. Seriously.

Yet the 49ers’ intent of making a strength even stronger certainly works out for Jackson, who didn’t necessarily benefit from the same during his collegiate days with the Trojans.

Sure, Jackson is merely a complementary and situational pass-rusher at this stage of his career, and he’s seen only 34.7 of the Niners’ defensive snaps thus far, which pretty much indicates he enters almost solely on third-down plays.

However, with three sacks and five quarterback hits during that abbreviated span, it’s safe to assume Jackson is making something of his chances. Tack on the fact Jackson wrapped up Week 8 in a tie with Detroit Lions pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson for most sacks to date by a rookie, perhaps we should consider grading Jackson a bit higher.

Let’s hold off on that, though, as Jackson is still limited and hasn’t quite shown up to be a plug-and-play player just yet.

Still, a B-plus grade is pretty good here.