2020 49ers Draft Grade & Analysis

Hiya, fellas. Well, the dust has settled after Draft Weekend, and it's about time I busted out the annual draft grade and pick evaluation. After that, I'll give you my selections as if I had been running the draft and had been fully aware as well that Joe Staley wasn't returning. Let's get started.

1. Javon Kinlaw-DT-South Carolina / Pick Grade: A
I really can't complain too much about this pick. He was arguably the best DT in the class this year, and he was only one slot behind Lamb on my board. He will be an immediate starter for us and is a perfect fit in our scheme. While he may not be an all-star right out of the gate, I expect the talent around him in Jones/Bosa/Ford/AA to help give him opportunities to showcase his playmaking ability early on in 1 on 1 matchups. Overall, not a bad pick at all.

1. Brandon Aiyuk-WR-Arizona State / Pick Grade: B
He was neck and neck with the other receivers on the board at this point, so while I didn't grade him as a top 25 pick, I also have been keen to express that I see the ceiling is quite high, especially in our system. His raw talent make me feel like his "best case scenario" could be something on the level of OBJ, but as I've said elsewhere, a safe bet seems to be somewhere around the Stefon Diggs trajectory which make the late 1st to early 2nd seem appropriate for where he should've gone. Yes, Aiyuk wasn't my favorite receiver in this class, but I don't think we got a bad value here at this spot.

5. Colton McKivitz-OL-West Virginia / Pick Grade: A
Having already selected a WR and DT, our next highest need was most certainly OL, and we took one here. Keith Ishmael and Nick Harris were two OL prospects still on the board but I would NOT have taken either of them here. In fact, I'm not sure I would've touched either until the 6th or 7th round at least. McKivitz' was not a guy I had had a chance to watch but after reviewing his film, his tape was clearly superior to the two previously mentioned players. I also think he was a better prospect than Prince Tega Wanogho -- a player who is a waist-bender, slow out of his stance and whose movement looks rather sloppy at times. Jon Runyan Jr could've been an option here, but I don't think he'd offer true OT capability in the NFL and certainly don't think he is a viable swing tackle candidate like McKivitz might be. So, after thorough review, I think we actually made the right pick here. Kudos, Shanalynch.

6. Charlie Woener-TE-Georgia / Pick Grade: C
At this point, I really wanted us to look as pass rush depth because I'm not a fan of trusting players with injury histories like Blair and Ford, and even to an extent Bosa before he got to the NFL. I know Derek Tuszka went late in the 7th, but I thought he was worth more than that, and would've picked him here instead. I know he's a phenomenal blocker, but there were several other TEs on the board that went later or undrafted that I think might've offered more collective value to us.

7. Jauan Jennings-WR-Tennessee / Pick Grade: B+
While he had talent well above the 7th round grade, his character questions stemming from lack of emotional control were the level of an undraftable player. If he has put all that behind him, he has the raw potential to greatly outplay his draft position and be a potential steal for us. He was worth a flier in the 7th, and definitely should provide healthy competition and insurance to a WR group that needs more talent, toughness, and durability.

Summary & Overall Draft Grade: B+
I think overall, despite that lack of picks, we did a really nice job. I have my nitpicks, but can't really complain too much about this class. Could I have done better? Hmm. Maybe. I'll share what I would've done now.

If I ran through the draft and went off my personal board/BPA while knowing Staley was retiring, these would've been my picks:

Round 1, Pick 14: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma
Round 1, Pick 31: Yetur Gross-Matos, DE, Penn State
Round 4, Pick 117: James Lynch, DT, Baylor
Round 5, Pick 153: Darnell Mooney, WR, Tulane
Round 6, Pick 190: Jon Runyan Jr, OL, Michigan
Round 7, Pick 217: Charlie Taumoepeau, TE, Portland State

Notes: As evidenced here by it being missing, I definitely would've traded pick 156 and next year's 3rd for Trent Williams as well. I graded Lamb and Gross-Matos as first round talents. Lynch, I graded as a 2nd-3rd round talent and I think he could've started at 3T. Mooney a 3rd round talent. Runyan a 5th, and Taumoepeau a 5th-6th. So all would've been value picks at those spots to me. I think we could've easily addressed our WR depth, pass rush depth, IOL depth, and TE depth by going my route, but time will tell if I was right.

The fact that the 49ers passed on their pick of the WRs with their 1st pick speaks volumes to what they thought of Kinlaw as a prospect. It also speaks volumes to what they think of the guys already on the roster. Remember Thomas and Jones are in contract years (I'd imagine they will NOT pick up Solly's option) and Taylor may be nothing more than a bottom of the rotation role player. With Armstead and Bosa entrenched as the starting DEs for the next few years, I don't agree with spending a 1st on a #3 DE, regardless of how you feel about Ford's/Blair's future with the team. Beyond that, the alternate draft looks just as good.

Nice recap OTC

good read.....

I think your high on the TE and low on the WR

Charlie Woener-TE-Georgia

I would be shocked if he was on anyones board or if was drafted with out the 49ers taken him. He is better then an average blocker, but hardly a world beater. His value to 49ers might be higher then to any other NFL team.

Jauan Jennings-WR-Tennessee

This has to be an A. Seldom does a player this talented ever fall to the 7th round. His off the field issues are negated by being a 7th round pick. Most Super Bowl teams don't have 7th rounders make the team.

Originally posted by Dshearn:

Jauan Jennings-WR-Tennessee

This has to be an A. Seldom does a player this talented ever fall to the 7th round. His off the field issues are negated by being a 7th round pick. Most Super Bowl teams don't have 7th rounders make the team.

You're way too high on Jennings. There's a good shot he doesn't make the team and his upside is nowhere near what you think.

He's slow with short arms for his size and small hands and the small hands show up in a lot of bobbled catches.

PFF liked the guy but Shanahan said he expected him to go anywhere from 5th round to undrafted because his combine was atrocious. That's what dropped him more than the off field issues.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ninersnation.com/platform/amp/2020/4/27/21238645/pff-lists-wr-jauan-jennings-as-one-of-the-biggest-steals-in-the-draft

Good job, Clock - very good assessment.

Originally posted by eastcoast49ersfan:

Originally posted by Dshearn:

Jauan Jennings-WR-Tennessee

This has to be an A. Seldom does a player this talented ever fall to the 7th round. His off the field issues are negated by being a 7th round pick. Most Super Bowl teams don't have 7th rounders make the team.

You're way too high on Jennings. There's a good shot he doesn't make the team and his upside is nowhere near what you think.

He's slow with short arms for his size and small hands and the small hands show up in a lot of bobbled catches.

PFF liked the guy but Shanahan said he expected him to go anywhere from 5th round to undrafted because his combine was atrocious. That's what dropped him more than the off field issues.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ninersnation.com/platform/amp/2020/4/27/21238645/pff-lists-wr-jauan-jennings-as-one-of-the-biggest-steals-in-the-draft

I have no opinion on this one. But I am not sure I have ever seen a draft pick where opinion round the Net is quite so divided! He is rated from being a very high pick, completely underrated, down to a UDFA who won't see anything in the League beyond training camp. 7th round pick? No great loss if he doesn't make it. But for some reason quite a number of folk see him as a potential starter.

Interesting.

By the way, great work as usual OTC.

Originally posted by English:

Originally posted by eastcoast49ersfan:

Originally posted by Dshearn:

Jauan Jennings-WR-Tennessee

This has to be an A. Seldom does a player this talented ever fall to the 7th round. His off the field issues are negated by being a 7th round pick. Most Super Bowl teams don't have 7th rounders make the team.

You're way too high on Jennings. There's a good shot he doesn't make the team and his upside is nowhere near what you think.

He's slow with short arms for his size and small hands and the small hands show up in a lot of bobbled catches.

PFF liked the guy but Shanahan said he expected him to go anywhere from 5th round to undrafted because his combine was atrocious. That's what dropped him more than the off field issues.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ninersnation.com/platform/amp/2020/4/27/21238645/pff-lists-wr-jauan-jennings-as-one-of-the-biggest-steals-in-the-draft

I have no opinion on this one. But I am not sure I have ever seen a draft pick where opinion round the Net is quite so divided! He is rated from being a very high pick, completely underrated, down to a UDFA who won't see anything in the League beyond training camp. 7th round pick? No great loss if he doesn't make it. But for some reason quite a number of folk see him as a potential starter.

Interesting.

By the way, great work as usual OTC.

There are WRs in the NFL who could not take his starting job from him in Tenn. Its that simple.

I really dislike the dude.... I am absolutely not a fan of his. But he has more then enough talent to STAR in the NFL, not just play....but to be a house hold name.

Some early drafts saw him as a first round or second round pick, that was cratered by the stomping incident and his combine results. Word is he looked winded at the combine. That has been an on going narrative of his, conditioning has been an issue.

If he gets his ducks in a row....and becomes a professional in both his body and his mind...sky is the limit for this guy.

If the 49ers take the guy in the 4th round...there is a ton of salt that comes with that pick...but in the 7th... He more talent then most 7th round picks dream of having.

Good analysis. I agree with the grading of the draft. It's safe and hard to dislike, but doesnt have you jumping out of your seat.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I think we're in pretty good shape still with the way things went. Jimmy still hasn't hit his ceiling, and he'll have tons of new weapons he didn't have last year. Yes, some of those depend on health, but can you imagine what a difference it would make if certain players were truly 100%?

McKinnon plus Hurd, Trent Taylor, Benjamin, Aiyuk, Jennings -- that's six receivers who weren't on the active roster last year. Of course not all are expected to make the team, but the point remains that we could potentially be a lot more explosive on offense than people think. I'm especially hopeful that the boost in PP with Brunskill slated to start at RG opens more opportunities for deeper routes.

Very nice breakdown OTC.
A poll is now included so the forum can assign their grades.

Talking about just the actual draft picks, I'm going with B. I thought the assets given up to move from 31 to 25 was a bit high (the addition of the 5th rounder) although I don't know much about pick value and pick calculators. Just seemed a bit high, but they really wanted Aiyuk so do what you gotta do.

The McKovitz pick was a bit puzzling for me in that they just acquired Trent Williams and think highly of Shon Coleman, enough to bring him back. Unless McKovitz is slotted for Guard competition, where does he fit with Coleman and Skule on board? I would have liked to see a CB/S drafted at the 5th rounder to give that group some potential depth. No idea what DB to pick as my big board is 15 players deep, if that.

The Woerner pick I really like because he will replace Toilolo as the gritty inline blocking TE. That's good value for a 6th rounder. Got a contributor.

Kinlaw to tandem with Bosa has high potential and I'm really excited for what that duo can do.

So for just the actual draft picks, I'm giving a B. Factor in Trent Williams (wow), getting value for Goodwin who I thought would not be tradeable, and getting a 5th for Breida (McKovitz ) makes the three day event an A.

Given that 95% of all draft grades 'really' range from A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, on JUST the players themselves (not including team needs), I'd say B on just talent alone and A- on scheme fit. B+

Volume is low: C+
Top team needs: C+ (no pass rush, pass protection or pass defense)