2022 NFL draft NFC West winners and losers and where the Seahawks fall
By Jake Luppino
Loser: San Francisco 49ers
Biggest Needs: OG, RB, WR, CB, S
Best Pick: Round 3 (Pick 93): HB Tyrion Davis-Price, LSU — potential to be a pound and ground 3-down back
The San Francisco 49ers entered the draft with more questions than answers, and they left the draft with more questions than answers. Although they have been known for drafting well under the John Lynch regime, this team is entering the 2022 regular season with a lot of unknowns.
First and foremost, it appears the keys of the organization will be handed over to 2nd year quarterback, Trey Lance. Is he ready to take over a team that was just in the NFC Championship? Even though I believe Lance is more than capable of being a winner in the NFL, the 49ers hesitancy to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo might state otherwise.
Secondly, what in the world is happening with Deebo Samuel? He was unhappy with the team, resulting in him requesting a trade before the draft. Rather than capitalize on getting a top 10 pick–which the New York Jets offered–the 49ers decided to stay put.
Yet, nothing has really changed. It appears as if Deebo Samuel still wants to be traded. They could have potentially bettered themselves by moving off a disgruntled Samuel and acquiring a wideout like Garrett Wilson or Jameson Williams. But, they did not and only time will tell how steep of a price that will be.
49ers draft wants over needs in NFL Draft
While there is no denying that the San Francisco 49ers have a championship-contending roster, they did enter the draft with holes at pivotal positions. Specifically in the secondary at cornerback and safety.
Yet, they didn’t draft a corner until the 5th round and failed to even take a safety at all. I would have expected them to address their needs very early on in the draft. Although I liked the pick of HB Tyrion Davis-Price out of LSU, I felt they reached on their first selection of the night in taking an edge rusher.
Head Scratcher: Round 2 (Pick 61): EDGE Drake Jackson, USC
The Drake Jackson selection to me didn’t seem to make much sense. Last year, the 49ers had one of the better defensive fronts in the league. They finished top 10 in sacks and almost helped propel this team to the Super Bowl.
Their defensive line still features Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. With Azeez Al-Shaair and Dre Greenlaw as the outside linebackers. Although Jackson has some upside and fits the 3-4, it just felt as if they could have used that second-round selection on another need.
In taking Jackson, they passed up on S Bryan Cook out of Cincinnati, CB Martin Emerson out of Mississippi State, S JT Woods out of Baylor and a handful of others that would have filled a bigger hole than edge rusher.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Jackson develop into a solid NFL starter because the 49ers have done a nice job over the years of polishing their edge rushers. But again–just like trading Deebo–they could have bettered themselves earlier on in the draft and in the long run.
Biggest Takeaway: Too many question-marks
Is Deebo Samuel on the roster at the start of the regular season? This is truly unknown. Many will assume yes because the draft has passed and he wasn’t moved. The 49ers also hold the leverage in this situation. Is Jimmy Garoppolo going to be a distraction?
If Trey Lance performs poorly early on, does Jimmy get the starting job back? This could potentially hurt Lances’ confidence moving forward. Despite the fact that San Francisco has had success in years past, there are just too many big question marks looming over this franchise for me to be happy with the draft they had.