The 49ers rocked the NFL world when they switched over to No. 12 overall choice and two future first round choices for the Miami Dolphins to acquire No. 3 overall selection in the NFL’s Draft 2021 to find their future franchise defender.
Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were open about their plan that Jimmy Garoppolo will still be the starting defender in 2021 as they believe he still gives 49ers the best chance of winning a Super Bowl next season. However, Shanahan and Lynch said they would switch the 29-year-old quarterback if they were surprised by an offer. But the 49ers are asking for a first-round pick in exchange for Garoppolo.
Former 49ers striker Joe Staley understands why Shanahan and Lynch chose a quarterback in the draft, but he knows that Garoppolo is a winning quarterback on the pitch.
“He took us to the Super Bowl. He was the quarterback when we went to the Super Bowl,” Staley told Michael Robinson on the “NFL Total Access: The Locker Room” podcast. “I think one of the things you said was, ‘When he plays.’ I think in any position, if you lose a lot of games, I think the old cliché is: ‘The best capacity is availability.’ There’s a double-edged sword in that, because if you’re Tom Brady and Drew Brees, I don’t care how often you get hurt, but you’re still going to be the starting defender. I think it might be a little [of the reason].
“… I think, two, the way contracts are structured these days in the NFL, it’s almost better to have a rookie quarterback on a rookie contract and sort of build a team around him. If you look at the quarterbacks [who have] He was in the Super Bowl, Tom Brady is probably the only one who was not in a rookie contract who was there. I think Pat [Mahomes] it was in his. “
Staley knows that the easiest way to build a Super Bowl squad full of talented veterans is to have a quarterback on a rookie contract, and he also sees the appeal in a coach and general manager choosing the guy.
“I think this is how the NFL works now,” said Staley. “I think everyone is looking for the newest and the best, and I think one thing is also Kyle. I mean, I think any coach wants that, especially when you’re a guy with such an offensive mind, as Kyle Shanahan is, is that he would kind of love to choose his own guy.
“And I think, looking from my perspective, it looks like there are a lot of excellent quarterback options out there this year, in this year’s draft. Obviously, they are excited about probably three of them, if they are negotiating up to three. Maybe they have three guys who they think they’re handpicked guys that they could go to in the next four, five or six years, be very, very competitive ”.
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Shanahan said the 49ers see at least three of the top five quarterbacks in the draft in the same light and believe that numbers four and five may have the ability to reach that level.
It is safe to assume that general choice number 1 Trevor Lawrence is one of those three defenders. BYU’s Zach Wilson, who Steve Young believes to be the best choice for 49ers’ QB, is probably also in that group. Lawrence and Wilson are expected to be the first two players chosen in the draft, which would leave the 49ers with the third quarterback of that group, whoever he is.
Shanahan and Lynch attended Mac Jones’ second professional day in Alabama on Tuesday. While the 49ers’ brokers were in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Justin Fields was putting on a show with his legs and arm on his own professional day in Ohio. Shanahan and Lynch said they would take a look at Fields in person before the draft.
Trey Lance, from North Dakota, had his professional day before the 49ers did the blockbuster, so Shanahan and Lynch were not present because they did not want to show their cards.
The 49ers will face a decision that will define the franchise when they reach third place. Whoever they choose will define the Shanahan-Lynch era.
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