2 draft picks’ talent comes with questions
We interrupt the 49ers’ honeymoon period to ask: Did the blinding talent of two draft picks cloud the vision of rookie general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan?
It’s an open-ended question. It’s conceivable that the new tandem, which has stressed strong character and accountability, displayed flexibility and a lack of dogmatism is trading up to select Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster and Utah running back Joe Williams.
Health and character questions surrounding Foster caused him to slip to 31st overall. But Lynch, who has termed Foster his “draft crush,” was prepared to select him at No. 3 if the 49ers’ first pick, Stanford’s Solomon Thomas, wasn’t available.
As for Williams, Lynch didn’t have him on his
draft board because of off-thefield question marks, but Shanahan was smitten and asked Lynch to reconsider. Lynch listened. And he traded a fifthround pick to move up for Williams in the fourth round, just hours after Lynch first spoke with Williams to better understand his background.
Their ability is obvious. Foster won the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker, and was widely viewed as a top-five talent. Lynch, a physical safety during his 15-year NFL career, said Foster is the type of player he covets: “He’ll hit anything that moves.”
Williams ran the secondfastest 40-yard dash among running backs at the combine and ended his career on a jawdropping streak: He averaged 190.2 rushing yards and 7.1 yards per carry in his final seven games.
His dominance prompted Shanahan’s predraft prodding: “Kyle kind of resurrected him and said, ‘John, have you seen his talent?’ ” Lynch said.
The additions of two ubertalents, who may have been grabbed at great values, are a reason Lynch’s first draft class was widely hailed and the positive offseason buzz surrounding the lowly 49ers has persisted.
But if the honeymoon ends, it could be at least partly because the risks taken with two of Lynch’s first five draft picks, players who cost the 49ers a fourth- and fifth-round pick to acquire, aren’t rewarded.
Foster was dismissed from the NFL combine after he got into an argument with a hospital employee. He also tested positive for a diluted urine sample, which the NFL counts as a positive drug test.
His decision-making remained questionable even as the 49ers selected him: He fielded their call at his draft party, which was sponsored by a tobacco and marijuana vaporizer company. Asked about the sponsor less than 24 hours later, Foster said he was turning over a “new leaf ” and declined to address the situation further.
Even before his disastrous combine, MMQB.com reported a team had removed Foster from its draft board, quoting an evaluator who cited his “immaturity” and “issues with life skills.” In the first round, Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie, who had a huge need for an inside linebacker, passed on Foster and selected Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley, who had been accused of rape.
Part of Foster’s tumble was tied to a shoulder injury that could require a second surgery, but both Foster and Lynch acknowledged that character concerns were a factor. Lynch has cited Foster’s passion for football — he didn’t miss a game at Alabama and willed himself through various injuries — and an infectious enthusiasm that was evident when he met the Bay Area media.
On Friday, the 49ers noted that Foster was starting his rehab sessions at 6:30 a.m. so he wouldn’t miss meetings or the opportunity to observe practice. Lynch has said the 49ers were attracted by Foster’s character.
“When you start talking football with this young man,” he said, “he lights up a room.”
Williams’ three-college odyssey began at Connecticut, where he was dismissed because of an incident regarding a stolen credit card. After a year at ASA College in New York, he transferred to Utah, where he left the team prior to his senior season and missed four games before coaches convinced him to return.
Williams has explained that his exit was tied to unresolved mental anguish stemming from the death of his younger sister, Kylee, who died at 7 in 2006 because of an undiagnosed heart problem. Kylee fell out of her bed at night and Williams, who was 13, blamed himself for not acting faster to assist her.
Williams has received counseling and acknowledged he previously used too many prescription drugs, citing Adderall, Percocet and Vicodin, to deal with his inner torment. Asked about being kicked out of UConn, he said he’s learned from his mistakes and the 49ers are getting a “completely new person.”
For their part, the 49ers did plenty of homework on both players. Williams joked that running backs coach Bobby Turner called him so often before the draft that he was like his “uncle.” And the 49ers sent Vice President of Football Affairs Keena Turner and pastor Earl Smith to meet with Foster for two days in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Lynch has also said the 49ers, who have poured more resources into their player-engagement department in recent years, will have a support system in place to help their rookies transition to the NFL.
Still, there are no guarantees. Lynch conceded that three days before the draft when discussing what he learned in his first months as an NFL executive.
Lynch said he ideally wanted players with impeccable character, but noted the search for the perfect prospect was fruitless. He’d learned “a lot of people have issues,” and a choirboy-filled roster wasn’t realistic.
The key: Do enough background work to determine whether the reward outweighs the risk. And part of that process involved ascertaining whether players possessed “football character” traits such as passion for the game, dependability and accountability.
“You’re looking for perfect, you’re looking for assurance,” Lynch said. “… It doesn’t happen. It’s not reality. … You work really hard to try to take all the risk and reward into account, and that’s our job. If we do it well, we’ll be successful. If not, we’ll struggle to be.”