It’s time to reflect on theSan Francisco 49ers’ previous drafts again. Thanks to YouTube poster and49ers fanMarvin49, we have videos of each draft. We’ll look at every year during the Kyle Shanahan era up to 2024.Today, it’s 2021.
You can’t think of the 2021 NFL Draft without immediately thinking of one person: Trey Lance.
The moment you saw the news notification that the 49ers had traded not one, not two, but three first-round picks to move up in the draft (along with a third-rounder, the moment was all about their quarterback to select. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was obviously going first, and BYU quarterback Zach Wilson would go second.
Regardless of who the 49ers took, once the trade was announced, the secret was out: the 49ers were selecting a quarterback. Initial speculation was that this trade was for Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. And darn it, no one wanted to be wrong on that one. Jones was obviously at the top of the scout assignments (who was seen by Kyle Shanahan firsthand). But then North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance entered the picture. This led to an exhausting war of Mac Jones/Trey Lance arguments. The third quarterback who was a possibility, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, wasn’t even in most of these conversations (though the 49ers scouted him).
As time went on, Those who thought Mac Jones was the reason for the trade were not backing down, even rephrasing themselves so they didn’t look so “wrong.” some even criticized Kyle Shanahan for [SPOILER] taking Trey Lance after the fact because it made them wrong.
Regardless of the reasoning, the Trey Lance pick was a historic disaster for the 49ers. Ignoring what would happen in the future, if you didn’t feel for Lance after this video, you need to check your neck for a pulse.
Trey Lance showed up big in training camp for a hot minute, had a couple of starts, then, when handed the keys a year later, broke his foot in the second game of the season. That led to the 49ers re-inserting Jimmy Garoppolo, who initially returned on a re-tooled deal as the backup. After Garoppolo went down later in the season, Brock Purdy came in.
Simply put, Trey Lance didn’t work out. His speed at NDSU didn’t translate well to an NFL field, and he couldn’t get around the perimeter. Or maybe it was his accuracy. Or it could have been the injuries.
It was the right move. The 49ers were uninterested in keeping Garoppolo and wanted to develop a QB. Lance seemed like the guy. It simply didn’t work out. It was a big swing and a miss. In a weird twist of fate today, Jones is on the 49ers’ roster, and Lance is a free agent. If you are a football fan, you should hope neither sees the field for your team.
So the Lance disaster makes this whole draft terrible, right? On the contrary, this is one of the better drafts the 49ers had in the Shanahan era. With the second selection, the 49ers selected Aaron Banks, a guard out of Notre Dame. Like Lance, Banks didn’t do much during his rookie season on the field. Unlike Lance, Banks showed massive improvement in practice to the point Laken Tomlinson was expendable in free agency. Banks’ time came this year, and he left in free agency for the Green Bay Packers.
Next up is the annual running back pick. This year, it’s in the third round and used on Trey Sermon from Ohio State. Sermon was called upon rather quickly in 2021 after several other running backs went down during a blood bath of a Week 1 game against the Detroit Lions. He didn’t do much to impress and was released a year late—a day after roster cuts for 2022. Why the 49ers don’t just stick to UDFAs for the position is beyond me.
Also in the third round was a pick on Ambry Thomas. Thomas had a lot of potential. As the season went on, many were seeing a future starter in the making. Thomas sealed the 49ers playoff hopes in their final game of the regular season by intercepting Matthew Stafford in overtime against the Los Angeles Rams. That might iron out Ambry Thomas's career highlights. He was released in 2024.
Jaylon Moore came in the fifth round. Moore was great...at left tackle. The problem was that the 49ers had a left tackle, Trent Williams. At right tackle, Moore wasn’t awful, but when you saw analysts predicting a payday for him in free agency, the writing was on the wall: he was going to protect another quarterback’s blindside.
Following Moore came the first steal in the draft, Oregon’s Deommodore Lenoir. Lenoir’s few snaps on the field his rookie season showed a lot of promise, in subsequent years he improved and stepped his game up as time went on. The one thing about Lenoir was Kyle Shanahan’s maddening decision to play veteran players like Josh Norman over him. Lenoir got a payday, too...luckily, this time with the team that drafted him.
The other steal of the fifth round was USC safety Talanoa Hufanga. While he was seen as “not speedy,” Hufanga put Jaquiski Tartt out of a job and became the starting safety in his second year. His rookie season can be defined on special teams in the playoffs, whereas in the NFC Divisional, he picked up a blocked punt and ran it in for a touchdown. A touchdown that sealed the game.
Hufanga was a ballhawk in his second season. One who also helped a ton in the running game. Unfortunately, it came with a price, and that was Hufanga’s habit of gambling on the play. This led to mixed results: a run stuffed or a sack when right, but a massive gain/touchdown when wrong. Hufanga spent a lot of time in his final two seasons injured, and his absence was felt. Hufanga left for the Denver Broncos in free agency on a 3-year deal worth $45 million.
Finally, in the sixth round, we have Elijah Mitchell. Another running back, but one that proved to be a lifesaver as the 49ers tend to run through bodies at the position. No one thought Mitchell would be taking over as running back as early as he did, but in the first game of the season (that aforementioned Lions injury game), Raheem Mostert went down with a knee injury. Mitchell came in and picked up the slack, quickly indicating he could be the running back of the future, until Week 2, when he also got injured. Mitchell left in free agency, going to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Typically, with Trent Baalke’s drafts and the first couple of the Kyle Shanahan era, I’m reminding you, “They are out of the league. That is not the case here. Each player in this draft is on a team, and most of them were paid over the first couple of days in free agency.
Unfortunately, the main event of the draft, Trey Lance, didn’t pan out, which is what this draft will be known for. While Lance didn’t work, you’d hope the rest of the draft could make up for it—and it could have, had the 49ers perhaps not tied so much money elsewhere. It almost seems like the 49ers were penalized for drafting so well. This is one of those drafts where they knocked things out of the park, but all that might be remembered is the Trey Lance debacle.
This is why they are stabilizing the organization's cash.
As always, the DMCA biscuits are watching this thing in full force, so go here to watch the entire draft reaction.
Pick Breakdown
Round 1 - Pick 3 - Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
Round 2 - Pick 48 - Aaron Banks, G, Notre Dame
Round 3 - Pick 88 - Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State
Round 3 - Pick 102- Ambry Thomas, CB, Michigan
Round 5 - Pick 155 - Jaylon Moore, OG, Western Michigan
Round 5 - Pick 172 - Deommodore Lenoir, CB, Oregon
Round 5 Pick 180 - Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC
Round 6 - Pick 194 - Elijah Mitchell, RB, Louisiana-Layfayette