SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In his first NFL draft as the San Francisco 49ers' general manager, John Lynch did not flinch. Neither did new coach Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the staff.
In fact, the Niners' new football leadership seemed as at home in running a draft as coaches and general managers with far more experience. In the post-draft analysis of things, you'll be able to find grades and such of people judging the 10 players the Niners selected. Those grades are mostly positive. While you can find that right here on ESPN.com, that won't be the purpose of this discussion.
Trying to determine how a player will fare immediately after the draft is an awfully difficult exercise without a crystal ball. That doesn't mean you can't take a closer look at how a team fared and get a read on what it was trying to accomplish. To that end, I have always liked to ask the same three questions and answer them.
Let's take a look at why the first draft for Lynch, Shanahan & Co. was a success:
Did they have a plan? Yes. Lynch and Shanahan made it very clear in the time leading up to the draft that this is a roster that needs a lot of upgrades. It's not going to happen overnight or over the course of three days for the draft, in this case.
Most teams talk about drafting the best player available, but most of them actually take the best player available at a position of need. But the Niners had needs all over the roster, which meant the plan, as simple as it sounds, was to get as many good football players as possible, regardless of position. Taking it a step further, Lynch acknowledged that the Niners have a roster in desperate need of star power. Within the confines of going with the best player, the Niners wanted hard-nosed, physical players who love football. Lynch said that doesn't mean everyone will be a choirboy.
One more piece of the plan has to do with the word that has become the buzzword of this offseason for the Niners: patience. The Niners talked about it a lot when it comes to finding a franchise quarterback, but they also pointed out that even with the moves they make now, they will continue to have an eye toward the future.
Did that plan make sense? Yes. The 49ers have a chance to take a step forward in 2017 and, though the form that such improvement might take remains to be seen, nobody seems to be under the impression it's going to be so drastic that the Niners are instantly contenders. It's going to take time to rebuild the roster and for Shanahan and Lynch to build the culture they seek. There are signs -- actual signs -- of that change all over Levi's Stadium already. Entering the locker room, there's now a mural of 49ers legends with the phrase "It won't be easy but it will be worth it." Inside the locker room, there are more signs touting rules such as "Protect the team," "No complaining, no excuses" and "Be on time." Shanahan even rearranged the locker room so players from different position groups are now sitting next to one another and developing relationships.
When you take over a 2-14 team, there's no reason to be beholden to the picks and ideas of the previous regime. Rebuilding the roster with the best player possible while keeping an eye toward the future was clearly the way to go.
Did they execute the plan? Yes. Really, they probably executed better than just about anyone expected them to in their first crack at this. San Francisco added not one but two cornerstone players in defensive lineman Solomon Thomas and linebacker Reuben Foster. Add that duo to DeForest Buckner and the defense looks like it finally has a young core to build around. The 49ers made a whopping six trades during the draft, second most among all teams and second most in franchise history. Despite those six trades, the Niners still ended up with 10 players but they also added running back Kapri Bibbs and additional second and third-round picks in 2018.
An exhausted Lynch was even surprised by the extent of the wheeling and dealing.
"I had no idea I was going to trade that much," Lynch said. "I thought I was a fairly conservative guy and that we were just going to have a calm draft."
Under normal circumstances, that many trades would have meant taking fewer players than normal, but the Niners' ability to move in both directions gave Shanahan a chance to do exactly what he set out to do.
"My goal going into this draft was I thought we needed to add a bunch of players, and we had 10 picks," Shanahan said. "So, usually, I think the philosophy is if you trade, you usually don’t get as many players. And so, if you would have told me that we traded six times, I would have been, well, dang, we didn’t get 10 players. What did we give up to go get whatever players we wanted? What surprises me when it’s all said and done, to know we traded six times, the goal was to get 10 players and we still got 10 players and plus added a second and third from next year. If you would have told me all that, I would have been very surprised."
The only regret Lynch and Shanahan had after their first draft in charge?
"I’m kind of ticked we were one [trade] away from a team record," Lynch said. "We should have just done it."
"We definitely should have," Shanahan said, smiling.