New GM plans to be aggressive in draft debut
Lynch won’t divolge team’s intentions for No. 2 overall pick
SANTA CLARA — Inside the John McVay Draft Room upstairs at the 49ers headquarters, flat-screen televisions and projector screens adorn the four, windowless walls. Grades of some 200 draft prospects are hidden behind a screen. This is where the 49ers future will be decided via this week’s draft.
New general manager John Lynch invited the media into that previously off-limits bunker on Monday to brief them on, well, not the 49ers’ top-secret plans but more so their general philosophies.
Lynch did not divulge what the 49ers will do with the No. 2 overall draft pick, nor does he know for sure. The 49ers continue to field calls from prospective trade partners. No deal is imminent.
“We’re going to listen right up ’till draft day,” Lynch said. “Otherwise we are going to take a player at (No.) 2 that we feel is a cornerstone for this franchise for years to come and we’ll be very passionate about that pick and player.”
A NFL Media report earlier Monday indicated the 49ers were “seriously considering” a quarterback at No. 2, most likely North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky. Yes, that is a possibility, Lynch said without truly confirming that or any other pre-draft report.
“There are a lot of assumptions being made, and I feel real confident those are exactly that — assumptions — because nothing has left this building,” Lynch responded to that report. “It’s that time of year, so there are going to be a lot more until it’s go time on Thursday.”
Lynch, however, noted that he and his personnel staff will spend the next day sifting through media members’ mock drafts, acknowledging that not only do reporters get their information from NFL staff but also vice versa.
Three months into the job and his first foray into NFL personnel, Lynch looks and feels like he’s caught up, with mere days to spare before his first draft.
Said Lynch: “Just last night, I finally got to the point … I always knew as a player like, ‘OK, I’m ready.’ That moment was yesterday for me. I’m ready to go on this thing, and that’s a good feeling.”
Lynch said his draft strategy should resemble the aggressiveness of not only his former playing style as a Pro Bowl safety but also Shanahan’s playcalling attitude.
“You can’t play scared, in life and in this league in particular,” Lynch said. “You’ve got to play smart but you can’t play scared. I hope that’s a quality you’ll see from us, that we’re never going to do things because they’re safe.
The 49ers have not yet n decided whether to pick up defensive back Jimmie Ward’s 2018 option. The deadline is May 3.
Only three weeks ago, n the 49ers changed their pre-draft grading system to those similarly used in New England, Denver and Atlanta, Lynch said.
The 49ers begin a n three-day minicamp Tuesday. “Whether or not it changes our mind on anything, you’d hate not to give guys an opportunity to show what they’re doing,” Lynch said.