With The First Pick
Fansided

Grading the San Francisco 49ers First Round Draft Picks

By Seth Steere

49ers DT Javon Kinlaw (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
49ers DT Javon Kinlaw (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /
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TEMPE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 29: Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk #2 of the Arizona State Sun Devils runs with the football en route to scoring on a 77 yard touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes during the second half of the NCAAF game at Sun Devil Stadium on August 29, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 29: Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk #2 of the Arizona State Sun Devils runs with the football en route to scoring on a 77 yard touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes during the second half of the NCAAF game at Sun Devil Stadium on August 29, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

25th Pick Grade: C+

Trade: 49ers receive the 25th pick

                     The Minnesota Vikings receive the  31st pick, the 117th pick, and the 176th pick

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This pick may come as a head-scratcher to most (including myself), however, with more consideration this pick makes a ton of sense. First, let’s talk about the trade. The 49ers used the pick they acquired from the Buccaneers as well as one of their two fifth-round picks to trade up for Aiyuk. On the other, no receiver was taken after San Francisco selected Aiyuk, begging the question, was the trade necessary?

Nonetheless, Aiyuk is yards-after-the catch machine and in Shanahan’s offense, you’re going to get a ton of opportunities to rack up yards with the ball in your hands. Aiyuk has great acceleration through the ball that allows him to blow by defenders and finish in the end zone. Aiyuk can struggle against press coverage, but will all the motion that Shanahan incorporates in his offense, it shouldn’t be a huge problem.

Overall Grade: B

What stopped this grade from being a B- as opposed to a B, was the fact that the 49ers were able to use the pick they acquired from Tampa Bay in the trade for Aiyuk, otherwise we may be looking at a B-, still a solid grade at the end of the day.

One last three round mock. dark. Next

It would of been nice to see San Francisco trade back even more so than they did and land more picks on day two of the draft, but landing two players at key positions is a smart strategy to follow. With the loss of both Emmanuel Sanders and Buckner filling those roles was clearly a huge priority for the 49ers and they have a great chance to do so with the players they selected in the first round.