San Francisco 49ers
John Lynch absolutely aced his first draft as a general manager in the NFL. Fear of inexperience gave in relatively quickly to the idea that Lynch knew exactly what he was doing in the 49ers’ war room.
It started when San Francisco fleeced the Chicago Bears for two third-round picks and a fourth-round pick for the Bears to move up just one spot near the top of the draft. San Francisco came out of that deal with the player it was going to take all along, former Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas.
Then, the 49ers would later use the fourth they acquired from Chicago to move from the top of the second round to the end of the first for linebacker Reuben Foster. This enabled San Francisco to end Day 1 with two of the top-three players on its board. Heck, if you ask experts around the NFL world, the team landed two of the best players in the draft.
This came after a free agency period in which San Francisco was able to add talent to one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Brian Hoyer brings experience and stability as a stopgap option at quarterback. Here’s a dude that’s thrown 25 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions in his past 14 starts.
He’ll get to work under new head coach Kyle Shanahan after the latter earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors en route to leading the top offense in the NFL with Atlanta last season. If that weren’t enough, the 49ers added a No. 1 receiving option in Pierre Garçon who led the league in receptions under Shanahan with Washington three seasons ago and is coming off another 1,000-yard campaign.
San Francisco has a solid foundation upfront with Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley and and up-and-coming right tackle in Trent Brown. It also has a uber-talented, yet injury-plagued Carlos Hyde in the backfield.
While the 49ers’ offense likely won’t even come close to ranking in the top half of the NFL this upcoming season, it will be vastly improved from the disastrous units thrown out there since Jim Harbaugh departed for Michigan. That much isn’t really up for debate.
Add in Marquise Goodwin at receiver, Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk and fellow Pro Bowler Jeremy Zuttah at center, and this is a vastly improved offense.
Though, it’s surely on defense where the 49ers will be more competitive than last season. Thomas and Foster join a front seven that already includes young studs DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead as well as All Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman. It could be a downright dominating group, especially against what has to be considered terrible offensive lines in the NFC West.
Listen, there are still major holes here. Will rookie mid-round pick George Kittle provide enough at tight end? Can Hyde stay healthy in the backfield? Will the 49ers’ inexperienced, yet talented secondary step up? Such is the nature of the beast with a new regime taking over a two-win team.
In no way does this mean the 49ers can’t be competitive in a division that has regressed in recent seasons. Look for rapid improvement here. It might not lead to a playoff spot, but .500 isn’t completely out of the question. After that, who knows?