Round 1 of the NFL Draft on Thursday night produced all of the pomp, but none of the circumstance for the San Francisco 49ers.
After months of hype, conjecture, wild guessing and arguing, the Niners stepped up to the podium with the 27th overall pick and... did nothing.
In fact, two trades later, they were out of the first round entirely, moving their first pick to the 33rd overall at the top of Friday's second round.
Sometimes NFL teams have to be killjoys, I guess.
There'll be analysis elsewhere over the rights and wrongs of moving out of the first round. I, personally, think it was the right move, as I've said elsewhere. But there is one key component of being out of the first round that some fans are worried about, contractually.
Namely, moving out of the first round means the 49ers forfeit a year of team control. Making a player a second-round pick means they are unable to keep a player on a fifth-year option.
Some fans are worried about this, but given the history of declining options on players who didn't pan out (Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, Javon Kinlaw, et al), only keeping them for that year before allowing them to leave in free agency (Mike McGlinchey), or signing them to a second contract but losing them anyway (Brandon Aiyuk... well, you know what happened there), I don't think it'll be a huge problem.
If someone plays on their fifth-year option, a la McGlinchey, the Niners have likely determined that they aren't sure of the value, meaning they're likely to let him leave for a large free agency contract, as with the lineman. If you truly believe in a player, it's unlikely he gets to the fifth year. You'd likely extend them anyway, as with Nick Bosa, or, erm, Aiyuk.
What is interesting about moving out of the first round, though, is it might show the 49ers' willingness to pick at positions they don't normally value. We hear all the time about how the Niners don't particularly like drafting linemen high, for example, believing the cost/benefit doesn't pan out compared to playmakers (something I frequently complain about).
Does the fact they'll only be tied into a four-year contract open up the possibility of drafting one, perhaps a guard, like Aaron Banks in 2021? That would open up possible targets like Emmanuel Pregnon or Chase Bisontis at No. 33 overall, for instance.
Perhaps they'll also look at another position they've frequently undervalued (to my chagrin) in safety; both Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and LSU's A.J Haulcy remain on the board, and given San Francisco's desperate need for ball skills, both should be in contention. You probably can't rule out Bud Clark or Treydan Stukes, either, depending on what new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is looking for.
Regardless, it certainly appears as though a consequence of the 49ers' various moves on Thursday night is to have given them flexibility, both in terms of future cap costs (including not having a potentially expensive fifth year on the books) and so-called "positional value," given the decision to move out of Round 1. Perhaps it tells us more than we thought about where the pick might be going.
Or, perhaps, the 49ers just never want to pay a wide receiver top-level money again. I guess we'll see.
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