The 2024 draft class should make the 49ers want to hold onto the rest of their picks until the end of time with how they performed
The 49ers traded three first-round picks in 2021 to move up to number three in the draft to select Trey Lance. The move is still highly criticized three years later, especially considering the 49ers landed Brock Purdy as the last pick in the following draft. However, the 2021 draft class was solid for San Francisco, selecting Aaron Banks, Jaylon Moore, Deommodore Lenoir, Talanoa Hufanga, and Elijah Mitchell after the Lance selection.
Before 2024, the 2021 draft was the last successful draft the 49ers had. 2022 and 2023 were a couple of stinkers of draft classes, with the 49ers not having a first-round pick.
2022 was headlined by the selection of Drake Jackson, followed by Tyrion Davis-Price and Danny Gray, with the class being salvaged by the Purdy pick. 2023 wasn’t much better, leading with Ji’Ayir Brown and Jake Moody, who both might have played their way off the 49ers this season. Even after those two, the 49ers didn’t get much production out of the remaining seven picks in 2023, with Dee Winters being the lone standout.
However, the 49ers found themselves back in the first round in 2024, and with that, San Francisco had its first successful group of rookies since the 2021 draft. Seven of the eight picks played in at least ten games for the 49ers (Jarrett Kingston was the only pick who did not, but he played seven for the Carolina Panthers), and several of those seven showed promising potential for the team’s future.
Ricky Pearsall was a surprise pick, with San Francisco taking him with their first selection. Even with the uncertainty around Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation, a wide receiver wasn’t a pressing need. But Pearsall’s career got off to a bad start, getting shot in the chest during a botched robbery, delaying the rookie’s debut by a couple of months.
When Pearsall did get on the field, it took a second to get going. He had seven receptions in his first two games before collecting four receptions and his first-career receiving touchdown against the Buccaneers. Then, over the next five games after his first touchdown, Pearsall was targeted nine times with just two receptions.
But even with the slow month, Pearsall would explode in the 49ers’ last two games. Against Detroit in Week 17, Pearsall set career-highs with eight receptions on 10 targets and 141 yards with a touchdown, followed by a Week 18 with six receptions for 69 yards and his third touchdown of the season. After the slow start, Pearsall showed promise, and it’s easy to picture how he will slide in next year next to Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and Jauan Jennings in the passing game.
While receiver wasn’t a significant need, cornerback was, and the 49ers used their second pick to address that need. Lynch and company went after Renardo Green out of Florida State with the idea of using him as a versatile cornerback who can play wide in the slot. After 33 snaps on defense in his first five games, Green wouldn’t see fewer than 38 snaps in a game over the final 12 games of the season.
All of his numbers were comparable to his counterparts in the secondary – Charvarious Ward and Deommodore Lenoir – targeted 70 times, allowing 44 receptions for 493 yards, with nine pass breakups, one interception, and three touchdowns allowed. With Lenoir signing an extension before the season, the 49ers have a promising future at corner, even with the uncertainty of Ward’s future with the team.
The 49ers went need again with their third pick, taking Dominick Puni out of Kansas in the third round, and if it weren’t for Puni, there wouldn’t be any positives to take from the 49ers offensive line in 2024. Puni needed a Spencer Burford injury in the preseason to get a starting spot, but he wouldn’t surrender it all season, in on every one of the 49ers’ 1,078 snaps this season.
Puni finished his rookie season with a PFF grade of 80.5 – only behind Trent Williams on the offensive line – allowing 35 pressures and three sacks, a promising start to what hopes to be a long career with San Francisco.
The Puni pick was followed by Malik Mustapha, who offered a fundamental energy shift in the 49ers secondary. Like Green, it took a few games for the snaps to come, but Mustapha didn’t give them up once they did. He was fine in the passing game, allowing seven receptions on 17 targets, but was responsible for three touchdowns.
Mustapha’s old-school, hard-hitting ways got him on the field; however, he finished fifth on the team with 72 tackles and two tackles for a loss at safety. While there’s no stat to track it, Mustapha was among the hardest hitters on the 49ers’ defense, with some of those hits causing Mustapha to pick up a few knocks throughout the season.
The 49ers rounded out the 2024 draft with the selections of Isaac Guerendo, Jacob Cowing, and Tatum Bethune. Guerendo showed flashes when he was called one after three 49ers running backs went down with injuries. Cowing never got consistent snaps but was the 49ers punt returner all season, joined by Bethune as a specialist.
After a few lousy draft classes, the 49ers righted the ship with a solid 2024 class. With Pearsall, Green, Puni, and Mustapha, you can pencil in four starters for the 2025 49ers, with the rest of the class expected to continue their roles from their rookie season.
Shanahan and Lynch’s recent draft class was successful, but tomorrow, we will conclude our 2024 What We Learned series with something we learned about one of the first draft picks in their era.