The No. 2 pick? It’s anybody’s guess
Joined-at-the-hip general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan are rookies in their respective roles, which raises a few questions entering the first day of their first draft together Thursday night.
For starters: Rock-papersscissors if you don’t agree on a pick, guys?
In February, Lynch said he had control of the draft, but he wanted a true “partnership” and all decisions, draft or otherwise, would be “subject to approval of the other guy.” That sounds swell at an introductory news conference, but what will it look like when, say, Shanahan adores a quarterback and Lynch is smitten with a safety?
On Monday, Lynch said they’ve gone over those potentially uncomfortable scenarios.
“It’s one that we forced ourselves to talk about and discuss,” Lynch said. “I’m not trying to cop out, but it’s going to be collective. Kyle and I made a commitment early on
that we’re going to come into this thing and we figured out our own way to have our tiebreaker.
“It’s not something that we’ve just kind of put aside and come Thursday night like, ‘What do you want to do?’ ‘I don’t know. What do you want to do?’ ”
Lynch kept their tiebreaker secret. And Lynch, Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers’ draft team have seemingly done an effective job of keeping their traps shut about their plans with the No. 2 pick.
On Monday, Lynch said it was “fair” to say they’d winnowed their list to two or three players they’d select, but those prospects remain a mystery. In the run-up to the draft, there have been reports that the 49ers covet LSU running back Leonard Fournette, LSU safety Jamal Adams, Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky and Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson.
Regarding those last two prospects: NFL Network reported Monday that the 49ers were “strongly considering” taking a quarterback with the pick. Lynch said the sources cited in a variety of predraft reports haven’t been among the “few people” that are privy to the 49ers’ draft board.
“There’s a lot of assumptions being made,” Lynch said. “But I feel real confident that those are exactly that because nothing has left this building.”
Lynch has made it clear this offseason that the 49ers are “open for business” when it comes to trading the No. 2 pick. He said he’s taken cursory calls involving a deal, but there may not be huge motivation for others to move up, given the lack of a consensus second-best prospect after Texas A&M pass-rusher Myles Garrett, the presumptive No. 1 pick by Cleveland.
Lynch maintained that the 49ers are quite content to stand pat and grab an elite player. That may be sincere, but also could be his way of letting the rest of the league know the 49ers won’t make a trade-down move without receiving proper compensation.
“We’re going to listen right up until draft day,” Lynch said. “But otherwise we’re going to pick 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 what that player can do us for us moving forward.”
Lynch may be a first-time GM, but the former Fox analyst is already adept at not giving away draft intelligence. Asked if the 49ers would consider drafting a quarterback at No. 2, Lynch said, “I think the answer is ‘yes.’ ” Asked later if it was a “necessity” to select a QB with one of his 10 picks, Lynch, who counts two quarterbacks on the roster, answered, “I would not say that.” Translation: nice try. Given the lack of hard evidence, it’s possible Lynch, who attended Stanford and spent 15 seasons as an NFL safety, has leaned toward grabbing Thomas or Adams. And the offensive-minded Shanahan could have targeted a QB or Fournette.
If there was a disagreement with the first draft pick of their union, it’s presumably been resolved by their undisclosed tiebreaker.
“We’ve got a plan,” Lynch said. “I can tell you that.”