Defending the 49ers’ selection of Jake Moody in NFL Draft

The San Francisco 49ers shocked the NFL world by drafting Michigan kicker Jake Moody in the third round, significantly higher than expected.

When it comes to the NFL Draft and San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch, you can always expect him to throw the fans and the wider NFL community a curveball (especially when it comes to the third round.

This proved prophetic once again when the 49ers took Michigan kicker Jake Moody at No. 99 to the shock of everyone. Let’s just acknowledge right off the bat that this was a surprising selection that nobody saw coming on Day 2.

Read More: San Francisco 49ers fill immediate needs on Day 2 of NFL Draft

And you know what? I’m ok with that. In fact, allow me to play devil’s advocate. Or maybe his lawyer.

The 49ers are in a position to win now and they knew that Moody, the consensus best kicker in the draft by a long way, was a gamble to be available when they picked again at No. 155. For context, the last time the top kicker came off the board in the sixth round or later was in 2015, when no kicker was taken at all whatsoever.

Lynch made a big call, and it’s one of those times where you can justify the reach. The 49ers are built to win right away so picks needed to be spent on players that could immediately contribute. Moody can instantly contribute, and it’s preferable to spend the third-rounder on a kicker who can do this instead of a running back buried on the depth chart.

Is it a reach? Absolutely it is. You should never spend a pick on Day 2 on a kicker unless he can boot 70-yard field goals with regularity which Moody isn’t. Moody went 29-for-35 in converting field goal attempts with the longest being 59 yards and converted all 60 extra points while handling kickoff duties for Michigan.

But despite some quite visible people complaining about this pick, it’s for certain preferable to take a guy who can contribute immediately over a backup when it comes to this team.

Jump on Team Moody right now while nobody is on the bandwagon. If he proves his worth, it can be guaranteed that nobody will care which round he was drafted in.