At this time last year, the San Francisco 49ers were preparing for the draft armed with the No. 2 overall pick, and waiting to learn what the Arizona Cardinals might do. What a difference a year makes.
Now, the 49ers are preparing to select at the end of the first round. That is thanks to a (mostly) successful season that saw the team reach the Super Bowl.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with team reporter Keiana Martin at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week and discussed the preparation process for the upcoming draft, and how it is different from the last few years.
Shanahan is getting a good feel for the players projected to go in the first round. The biggest difference is that his 49ers select No. 31 overall as opposed to higher up in the draft order. That means doing more homework on a larger pool of players because you never know who might fall to you.
"When you're sitting back at 31, you never know what's going to come," Shanahan told Martin. "You've got to be ready for anything. You might be not thinking you're going to go for a certain position because it doesn't make that much sense at the time but then a guy that you evaluated as a top-10 pick all of a sudden slides there, and you've got to make that decision versus something that you need."
Then there is the possibility of a trade. That could mean potentially moving up or down. The 49ers aren't guaranteed to be picking at that No. 31 slot on draft day.
While many believe San Francisco will try to trade down to acquire more picks, moving up isn't necessarily ruled out. While less likely, stranger things have happened during the draft. Should that opportunity arise for the Niners, Shanahan wants to be ready. He doesn't want to have to cram in months worth of work on a player in a matter of minutes because of a surprise move.
"Even though it's completely different, if you sit there and relax too much, and don't stress about it, you will be very unprepared," Shanahan continued. "I still try to act like we could be at any position. You go through that process, which is the same as it's been for me for 17 years straight. Hopefully, it will work out."
What do the #49ers plan to do with the 31st-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft? @KeianaMartinTV discusses with Kyle Shanahan at his fourth #NFLCombine as head coach ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZPlnHMQK4I
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) February 28, 2020
Shanahan's comments are similar to those he made to reporters earlier in the week. General manager John Lynch is also preparing for anything as the team heads into free agency and the draft.
"I think the important part right now is that we're prepared for all scenarios," Lynch said Tuesday. "So, the best way to do that is to do our due diligence in terms of getting ready for the draft class, the free-agent class, and evaluating our own players. That's where our mindset is.
"I think those things will take care of themselves as our plan and our vision for making our team better this year develops further."
