Part of the reason the 49ers have managed to find so much success under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch is their penchant for identifying quality players late in the draft. It’s no surprise that a trio of 49ers landed on ESPN’s list of the 50-biggest draft steals of the last decade. It’s an even smaller surprise that none of them are from the pre-ShanaLynch era.
Finding top talent in the early portion of the draft is essential. Nick Bosa is not on the list because he went No. 2 overall, and the list excludes first-rounders. Even a late Day 1 pick like Brandon Aiyuk, who might feel like a steal, isn’t on the list.
Grabbing quality players late is how the 49ers have managed to build a regular contender in the NFC though. A high-priced roster with tons of top-end talent requires cost-controlled draft picks to fill out the rest of the team. When those picks turn into stars early on, it changes the entire complexion of where a team lands on the NFL hierarchy.
This list also won’t include the 2023 draft. If the 49ers can manage to find a player this year who winds up on a biggest draft steals list down the line though, they’ll be in a great position to extend their Super Bowl window.
Let’s take a look at which three 49ers draft picks were among the biggest steals of the last decade:
No. 8: TE George Kittle
The 49ers selected Kittle in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. It was clear during his rookie season he could hang in the NFL, but Year 2 was when he set the league on fire with a then-record for receiving yards by a tight end with 1,377. His numbers have dipped some, but Kittle is still one of the most dominant all-around players at his position in the NFL. Kittle’s presence sets a tone for the entire 49ers offense with his outstanding blocking and physical running style after the catch.
No. 9: LB Fred Warner
Warner came in the year after Kittle as a third-round pick in the 2018 draft. It was clear right away the 49ers had something with the BYU product. He earned the Mike LB spot and the green dot on his helmet as the defensive play caller out of training camp. Since then his ascension to becoming the best off-ball linebacker in the league has been swift. There aren’t many things Warner isn’t capable of on the field. He’s a terrific run defender and his coverage skills in the intermediate areas make San Francisco one of the most difficult defenses for modern offenses to figure out.
No. 14: WR Deebo Samuel
Samuel is the earliest draft pick of the three. He was the 36th overall pick in the 2019 draft, but it’s clear in hindsight that he should’ve gone much earlier than that. The wide receivers taken before him that year were Marquise Brown, who went No. 25 to Baltimore, and N’Keal Harry, who went No. 32 to New England. Two tight ends also went before Samuel that year. The South Carolina product rewarded the 49ers with an outstanding rookie year, and then an unprecedented 2021 season where he posted 1,405 receiving yards, 365 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns. The 49ers are a yards-after-catch based offense, and no player exemplifies that more than Samuel.
