The COVID Season
It’s time to reflect on the San Francisco 49ers’ previous drafts again. Thanks to YouTube poster and 49ers fan Marvin49, we have videos of each draft. We’ll look at every year during the Kyle Shanahan era up to 2024. Today, it’s 2020.
Stop me if this sounds familiar: The 49ers nabbed the No. 1 seed and lost the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. No, I’m not talking about 2023, I’m talking about that other Super Bowl loss. This draft is the draft following that Super Bowl loss.
So, we need to bring up the COVID-19 season. By this time, lockdown had happened in the United States and the 2020 NFL Draft was no different. NFL Comissioner Rodger Goodell traded in the stage, podium, and boos from the crowd to being in his own home with peace and quiet. This was the year when we, as fans, had draft parties with video conferencing.
No NFL Combine happened this year. And the only massive 49ers free agency stress was the departure of defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. This would prove to be a gigantic mistake. Buckner’s trade netted the 49ers a first-round pick which they used to draft Javon Kinlaw. Another, separate, though related mistake.
What’s annoying is the 49ers traded back a single spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Who took Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs. Wirfs was a draft crush for many of us and could have helped the 49ers’ offensive line issues. Instead, Kinlaw. Their careers are not like each other. At all.
Kinlaw had promise, he also had injuries. A lot of injuries. In his rookie season, bursts of play made you think the 49ers would be just fine without Buckner, like this pick six against the Rams. Unfortunately, Kinlaw couldn’t get it together until his fourth year, long after the 49ers declined his fifth-year option.
But the 49ers had another first-round pick, which was very beneficial: wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk made his presence known immediately in his rookie season, but the COVID year caused all sorts of restrictions, including him not getting the whole NFL training camp experience. Aiyuk continued to improve and netted a very large (and dramatic) extension in the 2025 offseason, but suffered a season-ending knee injury during the season he’s currently recovering from.
The 49ers didn’t have another pick until the fifth round, where they would take Colton McKivitz, an offensive tackle out of West Virginia. For a fifth-round pick, McKivitz has been decent. He’s no George Kittle in re-setting the position based on where he’s drafted, but McKivitz did land a one year, $5.85 million contract from the 49ers to play through the 2025 season. Take from that what you will.
Then there’s Jauan Jennings, a wide receiver out of Tennessee. Jennings had a tranquil 2020 season, getting waived in September and put on the practice squad. It was in 2021 that he made his presence known and became a replacement for Kendrick Bourne as a No. 3 wide receiver. The name “Third and Jauan” became muttered here and was solidified in seasons to come. Jennings could have been Super Bowl MVP in the 49ers’ recent Super Bowl loss, but it’s still far too soon to discuss that event.
Once upon a time, we could post the YouTube video here. Nowadays, the DMCA biscuits are watching this thing in full force, so go here to watch the entire draft reaction.
Pick Breakdown
Round 1 – Pick 14 – Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina
Round 1 – Pick 25 – Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State
Round 5 – Pick 153-Colton McKivitz, OT West Virginia
Round 6 – Pick 190- Charlie Woerner, TE, Georgia
Round 7- Pick 217 – Jauan Jennings WR, Tennessee