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San Francisco 49ers: John Lynch Nails it on First Day of Draft

By Sean Bialaszek

Mar 2, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks to the media during the 2017 combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks to the media during the 2017 combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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In his first shot at the draft as San Francisco 49ers’ general manager, John Lynch absolutely nailed it on day one with a huge trade.

New general manager John Lynch has a tough task ahead of him in trying to turn the San Francisco 49ers from one of the worst-run franchises and worst on-field products into something competitive and positive. He was busy early in free agency, and on the first day of the NFL Draft on Thursday, Lynch was back in the wheeling and dealing mode.

There was plenty of talk leading up to the draft that the 49ers would move back from the second overall pick, but they went on the clock after the Cleveland Browns took Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett. It appeared they would make their pick, but they soon made a deal. Lynch absolutely nailed that first deal.

The Chicago Bears decided it was extremely important to move up from the third pick to the second pick. It was so important, in fact, that they gave the 49ers four draft picks, including the third overall pick this year, just to move up one spot.

In addition to that number-three overall pick, the Bears gave up a third-round pick (67th overall) and fourth-round pick (111th overall) this year, as well as a third-round pick in the 2018 draft. They gave up that huge haul to move up one spot and pick North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky, a player the 49ers probably weren’t going to pick anyway.

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Basically, the Bears gave up three extra picks to announce their selection 10 minutes sooner. Basically, the 49ers received three extra picks to wait 10 minutes more.

The trade gives the 49ers 11 more draft picks over the final six rounds. They have one second-rounder (34th), two third-rounders (66th and 67th), three fourth-rounders (109th, 111th, and 143rd), two fifth-rounders (146th and 161st), two sixth-rounders (198th and 202nd), and one seventh-rounder (219th).

With the third overall pick received from Chicago, the 49ers used it to take a defensive lineman from the Pac-12 for the third straight year. Joining former Oregon Ducks Arik Armstead (2015) and DeForest Buckner (2016) is Solomon Thomas, out of Stanford.

In two seasons at Stanford, Thomas tallied 12 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss. In 2015, his 10.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks made him an honorable mention for All-Pac-12 teams. 2016 turned out to be a huge year for the kid that who spent a good portion of his youth in Australia. He made 14 tackles for loss and picked up 8.5 sacks, earning the Morris Trophy as the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year.

In the Sun Bowl against UNC, Thomas had one of his best performances of the year. He had seven tackles (two for loss) and a sack, but he made himself at home in North Carolina backfield, consistently forcing his way across the line and into Trubisky’s face.

And a cool fact for Thomas, the 49ers’ first pick: in week one, he’ll suit up for the 49ers against the Carolina Panthers, who picked Thomas’ former teammate at Stanford, Christian McCaffrey with the eighth overall pick. Thomas may be chasing after a guy he watched run around defenses time and time again in college.

Next: 49ers: Easier Schedule, Still Tough to Win

No one knows how the rest of the draft will turn out for Lynch and the 49ers. But on day one, Lynch nailed it.