NFL Draft, NFC West 1st-round recap: 49ers draft DT after trading down with Bears
Apr 27, 2017, 5:49 PM | Updated: 10:03 pm
Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
A recap of the 2017 NFL Draft’s first round from the perspective of the Arizona Cardinals’ NFC West foes.
San Francisco 49ers (3rd via trade)
It appears first-year Niners general manager John Lynch knows what he’s doing. The green front office leader acquired a third, fourth and 2018 third-round pick from the Chicago Bears, who moved into the No. 2 selection to draft quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
The Niners used the third overall pick to select Stanford defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, a consensus top-5 pick.
At 6-foot-3 and 273 pounds, Thomas left school after a redshirt sophomore campaign for the Cardinal that included 62 tackles, 15 of which for loss, and eight sacks.
“He’s damn good,” a director of scouting for an AFC team told NFL.com. “I don’t think he gets drafted as early as you do because he’s not big enough for inside and he’s not as long as you like on the outside. You have to figure out where you will play him, but he won’t stop. He’s going to be really productive.”
But more than Thomas going to the 49ers, the acquisition at No. 3 overall was quite the surprise considering the Bears’ perspective and pick of Trubisky. Chicago added veteran quarterback Mike Glennon this offseason to replace Jay Cutler as a starting quarterback, and Trubisky was not viewed as a top-10 pick.
Cherry-picking a few well-regarded top prospect lists at ESPN, Todd McShay ranked Trubisky as the 27th-best draftee while Mel Kiper had him 19th.
The last QB picked 2nd overall to reach the HoF was by the Bears … In 1939. Sid Luckman
— Jason Lisk (@JasonLisk) April 28, 2017
San Francisco 49ers (31st via trade with Seattle)
Apparently, it’s a divisional thing.
The Seahawks traded their 26th pick to move down to 31st, receiving a third-round pick and a seventh-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons, who selected Takkarist McKinley 26th.
Seattle wasn’t done. After the first trade, the Seahawks dealt the 31st pick to the 49ers, receiving the 34th pick (second round) and 111th selection (fourth round). The Niners drafted Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, a player mocked somewhat regularly to the Cardinals with their 13th pick.
Foster had a “diluted” drug test, was sent home from the NFL combine and also had a concerning shoulder injury hurting his stock.
“He’s not a MIKE linebacker,” an NFC team’s director of scouting told NFL.com. “I think he’s a pure run-and-hit WILL linebacker with good cover talent. I’m worried about what his medicals will show because he’s had some issues with stingers during his career. I have a higher grade on him than I had on Reggie Ragland. Better pro potential to me.”
