Trent Baalke and John Lynch have had a hand in the last ten drafts, just how well have they done?
Depending on who you ask about the San Francisco 49ers‘ draft track record under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, you may get three different answers. There are the misses in the first round, including the trade-up for Trey Lance, the gems finding Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Fred Warner, and Deommodore Lenoir, and the starter-level draftees like Aaron Banks.
However, you feel about the draft classes under Shanahan and Lynch, one thing is for sure: there are peaks and valleys. The draft process is imperfect. Aside from Nick Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk, every other first-round pick under the 49ers has moved on without signing a second contract. Also, the 49ers didn’t have a first-round pick in 2022 and 2023.
But how good have the 49ers been over the last ten years? Now, the first three years of this sample size are under Trent Baalke. Jimmie Ward, Arik Armstead, and DeForest Buckner were the first-round selections, with the 49ers trading up in the first round for Joshua Garnett.
Betway has ranked the 32 teams over the last ten drafts.
Betway’s methodology goes as follows:
- End of Season Award Winners Drafted (NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Comeback Player of the Year)
- All-Pro Players Drafted (First and Second Team)
- Drafted rookies who have made the PFWA All-Rookie Team
- Pro Bowlers Drafted
- Super Bowl Winners Drafted
Each team was given a normalized score for each metric. These scores were totaled up and multiplied by 20 to provide a final draft score out of 100.
The 49ers finished eighth with a score of 30.7.
The highlights include:
- The 49ers have drafted 10 players over the last 10 drafts to make the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Only the Chargers, Chiefs, and Lions had more than this.
- In the last 10 years, the 49ers have drafted eight players who went on to make the Pro Bowl. Only five teams drafted more Pro Bowlers.
- The 49ers have drafted seven players who went on to make an All-Pro team. Only the Lions, Ravens, and Cowboys had more than this.
- Despite not winning one themselves in the last decade, the 49ers found themselves in the top 10 for Super Bowl champions drafted (7).
- The 49ers also had one end-of-season award winner drafted in Nick Bosa, who won DPOY in 2022 and DROY in 2019.
The last four Super Bowl winners are ahead of the 49ers: The Chiefs (55.5) are number one, the Rams are number three (48.8), and the Eagles are number five (40.3).
The 2025 draft allows the 49ers to rebuild their roster and improve their score. This draft is imperative for the team to turn the corner and continue to win and compete.