For the most part, the San Francisco 49ers may want to ignore their efforts from the NFL Draft classes of 2022 and 2023, ones heavily impacted by the 2021 trade-up for quarterback Trey Lance.
In 2022, though, the Niners used the final pick of the draft on a little-discussed quarterback, Brock Purdy, who quickly went from Mr. Irrelevant to one of the league's best-paid stars in a brief amount of time.
It was just one more example of how San Francisco manages to identify and properly develop talent late in the draft.
Sports Illustrated's Justin Melo recently compiled a list of teams that have a track record of drafting well in the late rounds, and 49ers fans understand too well why their team falls into this category.
So, understandably, Melo listed the Niners as one of the five best at doing this:
There's no better late-round NFL Draft success story in recent memory than San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. The infamous Mr. Irrelevant pick (No. 262) in 2022, Purdy has since played in a Super Bowl and signed a $265 million extension. It doesn't get better than that.
Elsewhere, 2024 third-round pick Dominick Puni has developed into a high-level starter at guard. This past season, the 49ers' six most-snapped defenders were all in-house draft picks, including Deommodore Lenoir (2021 5th-round), Dee Winters (2023 6th-round), Malik Mustapha (2024 4th-round), and Upton Stout (2025 3rd-round). And how about this run of late- round picks? George Kittle (2017), Dre Greenlaw (2019), Jauan Jennings (2020), Talanoa Hufanga (2021).
Kittle arguably started the trend back when general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan took over their respective duties in the Bay Area in 2017. From a little-known fringe prospect to one of the NFL's best tight ends in history, Kittle's own success is worth heralding.
Interestingly enough, though, San Francisco currently owns zero picks in the 2026 draft after Round 4.
Maybe Lynch and Co. opt to trade down from the fourth round at some point to stockpile some fifth-, sixth- or seventh-round selections, based solely on their track record for finding talent at otherwise unimpressive rounds in the draft.