It was never going to be easy for the 49ers to finagle a strong post-draft grade coming out of the 2023 draft. They held 11 picks, but their first selection wasn’t scheduled until No. 99 at the end of the third round. One trade moved them up to No. 87 and left them with nine total picks. Despite their limited draft capital, San Francisco salvaged a B- grade from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.
There were some opportunities for the 49ers to track down some higher-end talent that slid down the draft, but their lack of picks between the end of the third round and the middle of the fifth round led them to make a couple of reaches they may have otherwise not needed to make. Via Farrar:
The pick I like the most in this group is Penn State’s Ji’Ayir Brown, who projects well as that kind of versatile safety the 49ers have loved through recent years. Think Jimmie Ward, and you won’t be far off. Beyond that, there are some reaches here, and perhaps not as many immediate contributors as you’d like, though I do like Georgia’s Robert Beal Jr. as a speed end. General manager John Lynch spoke after the pick of Beal’s “GTFO” ability, which is apparently a metric the 49ers’ staff uses to discern a defensive lineman’s ability to get off the snap as quickly as possible.
The 49ers very much drafted like a team looking to fill out some depth on its roster. They didn’t aim for high-end athletes with big upside that tend to garner higher grades in the immediate aftermath of the draft. Instead, they found a kicker, a pair of players who could compete for the backup tight end job, a linebacker who should be in the mix for the starting Sam LB spot and some depth pieces to battle for playing time along the defensive line, secondary and receiving corps.
It wasn’t a super inspiring draft, but it could bear fruit if it improves the depth on an already good roster.
