SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

Round 1 (14): DI Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina
Round 1 (25): WR Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona State
Round 5 (153): OT Colton McKivitz, West Virginia
Round 6 (190): TE Charlie Woerner, Georgia
Round 7 (217): WR Jauan Jennings, Tennessee

1st Round: The 49ers had a busy first round, with two selections and two trades. Moving back one pick to take Kinlaw at No. 14 with players like Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb on the board may not have been the optimal decision, but it’s not as if they reached. Kinlaw was the top interior defender and the 13th-ranked player overall on PFF’s Big Board. He’s a physical specimen with the kind of pass-rushing tools and production you love at the position, highlighted by an 18.1% pass-rush win rate in 2019 that trailed only Jordan Elliott in the class. “This was a man who went from homeless to junior college and now to South Carolina, overcoming every obstacle in his way. Those are the kinds of players you bet on in the draft,” – stats PFF’s lead draft analyst Mike Renner ... After the draft, there were reports that Aiyuk was WR1 on the 49ers’ board, and it’s not hard to see what they’d like about his skill set. He’s one of the best wide receivers in this class - a certified freak of an athlete who recorded nearly 11 yards after the catch per reception on 65 catches in 2019. There is reason to be worried about Aiyuk not doing much at all until his senior season, but he has well-defined strengths that should play well in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. 

Balance Of The Draft: San Francisco was left without a pick on Day 2 after trading away their third-round selection as part of the Emmanuel Sanders trade and their second-round pick as a part of the Dee Ford deal. Those win-now moves helped get them to the Super Bowl last season, but they are now left without a pick until Round 5 in this year’s draft. Now they are a defending conference champion and do not have many weaknesses to correct. The biggest news of the day for the 49ers was the retirement of their longtime fixture at left tackle, Joe Staley, and the resulting trade to acquire Trent Williams from the Washington Redskins. Staley has been underappreciated for just how good he has been — he has recorded overall grades of 80.0 or higher in each of the past eight seasons. Williams was the only option out there who could hope to match that kind of production. The former Washington tackle has put up eight consecutive seasons of 75.0-plus overall grades and is one of the top tackles in the league when healthy ... The other noteworthy move for the 49ers here is scooping up Jennings - the No. 70 overall player on the PFF Big Board - in the seventh round. With his after-the-catch ability, he could not have landed in a better spot. Jennings averaged over 7.5 yards after the catch per reception in both 2018 and 2019, and he forced a whopping 30-missed tackles after the catch last season. That will certainly play well in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. 

Steal Of The Draft: Jauan Jones
Draft Grades: Playbook B 
ESPN: B-... PFF: B+...  SI: A-... Composite: B+

In closing we highly recommend you view the PFF Player Grades for each player in the 2020 NFL draft. PFF assigns a grade for every play to each player during a football game. Each grade is reviewed at least once, and usually multiple times, using every camera angle available, including All-22 coaches’ tape. You can view it here: PFF.Com/Grades