Pressure building to learn plans for draft
Shanahan says he won’t let social media affect his decisions
Kyle Shanahan hears the buzz. He’s aware of fans’ mounting anxiety over which quarterback the 49ers will draft Thursday night, specifically the unpopular specter of picking Alabama’s Mac Jones instead of a dual-threat dynamo.
“It is so irresponsible to let something like that affect your decision,”
Shanahan said Monday. “We do this for a living and people should be proud of us that we won’t let that affect our decision. And then it’s up to us to live with the consequences.”
Shanahan and GM John Lynch can put blinders on to social media, but there’s no escaping the realworld scrutiny they’re facing after trading up nine spots last month to get the No. 3 pick, presumably to use on a QB to succeed Jimmy
Garoppolo’s in the near future, or sooner.
“I do go to restaurants. I do go to my kids’ soccer games. Every single person — whether it’s a ref, an umpire, another parent — everyone has a strong opinion, then most people let me know,” Shanahan said in a video conference with reporters from Levi’s Stadium “Every one of my friends, trust me, most of them are just texting my wife because they don’t get a response back (from me).”
Monday was the local media’s chance to gauge whether Jones truly has emerged as the 49ers’
favorite, as depicted by the national media. The other two candidates are North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Ohio State’s Justin Fields, presuming that Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson go 1-2 to the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets.
All Shanahan would allow was: “I like that him along with four other guys is capable of being our starting quarterback and capable of winning.”
Shanahan saw no benefit to going public Monday with which QB he wants. He acknowledged “no one’s ever a slam dunk.”
When it came to which type of quarterback he wants, well, he either was dropping a hint or running a misdirection play.
“You want to find Drew Brees who can move like Lamar Jackson,” Shanahan said.
That description fits Lance and Fields more than it does Jones. But, then, Jones is more like Brees than the other two.
As for Garoppolo, Shanahan wants to see him on the 49ers’ practice field in next week’s workouts — he has participated in the voluntary video meetings the past two weeks — and to have him in place next season while a rookie quarterback learns the system and NFL ropes.
Shanahan called it “a little dramatic” to label this the boldest move in 49ers’ history. Still, Lynch acknowledged that a Super Bowl-caliber roster is in place for whoever is at quarterback.
The final call will be Shanahan’s to make.
“The draft is mine,” Lynch said, “but I told Kyle from the beginning, he and I are doing this together. When it comes to quarterbacks, and we have a head coach who’s our offensive play-caller, I will always defer to him.”
• Right tackle Mike McGlinchey, the 49ers’ firstround pick in 2018, will have his 2022 fifth-year option picked up, Lynch said. That $10.9 million commitment shouldn’t be a surprise because, despite McGlinchey’s pass-protection woes last season, he has been an ideal run blocker with a professional work ethic that supports the notion of a bounceback season in 2021.
• The 49ers interviewed nearly 600 players (in person, by phone, by Zoom) and attended 128 pro-day workouts to compile a list of 160 draft-worthy players.
They have nine picks, with at least one in each round except the third round, as well as three choices in the fifth round.
• Former 49ers quarterback Trent Dilfer has launched a foundation in honor of his late son, Trevin, who passed away 18 years ago. Donations can be made through NFL Draft predictions at https://givegame.com, and $49,000 is being donated by Lynch and Shanahan. 49ERS PLACE 75TH ANNIVERSARY PATCH ON UNIFORMS >> The Bay Area’s oldest professional sports team will add a new touch to their iconic uniforms this season. The 49ers announced Monday they will commemorate their 75th anniversary this season, in part, by wearing a diamond-shaped patch on their jerseys.
Fans won’t have to wait long to see how the new patches designed by the 49ers’ in-house designers look on the jerseys. Whichever quarterback the 49ers select with the third overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night will be holding up a jersey adorned with the 75th anniversary patch.
The 49ers draft will mark the official kick off of what the team says will be a year-long marketing campaign to honor and celebrate the team’s past 75 years.