While they've obviously had their fair share of misses over the years, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have generally done an impressive job of finding at least one key starter from every one of their draft classes since taking over in 2017.
But as recently as 2021 you'd have been hard pressed to find many people espousing the merits of their 2020 draft class, with 14th overall pick Javon Kinlaw struggling to make an impact after an injury late in his rookie season and Brandon Aiyuk seemingly demoted to the role of bit-part player for the first half of the season.
However, things can change very quickly in the NFL and, as the 49ers prepare for their 2024 campaign, it's difficult to view their efforts in the 2020 draft as anything other than a success.
Kinlaw did not pan out, leaving the 49ers in free agency this offseason after his best season with the team in 2023. Meanwhile, fifth-rounder Colton McKivitz was not exactly convincing as the starting right tackle last season, with the 49ers surprising many by electing not to draft a player to replace him this year.
Yet with the 49ers looking to come to terms on a contract extension with Aiyuk that would make him one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL before training camp , the 2020 draft has to be seen as a win for San Francisco by at least one measure.
The 2019 draft is the gold standard for the 49ers, one that provided them with two superstars in Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel, a top-tier starter at linebacker in Dre Greenlaw and a starting punter in Mitch Wishnowksy.
All four of that quartet have earned second contracts with the 49ers, an unequivocal sign that the 49ers aced that draft. The 2020 draft is not on the same level, but Aiyuk's still likely extension would mean that several players from the class have earned second contracts.
McKivitz was the first to do so, signing a two-year extension in 2023 and then another one-year deal this offseason. However, his extensions come with an asterisk as McKivitz was released in 2021 before being re-signed to the practice squad.
Earlier this offseason, the 49ers signed wide receiver Jauan Jennings, their would-be Super Bowl hero who threw for a touchdown and caught another in their agonizing defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in February, to a two-year extension . Jennings is a similar case to McKivitz, though, having initially been released as a seventh-round rookie before he was re-signed to the practice squad.
The undoubted star of the 2020 class, however, is Aiyuk, who is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and was a second-team All-Pro last season. If the 49ers break the impasse and sign him to a lucrative deal, it will make Aiyuk the third player from a class of just five picks to sign to a contract to keep him on the roster beyond the expiry of his initial rookie deal.
While McKivitz definitely needs to make strides to keep his job as a starter, it is difficult to argue with that of kind of hit rate.
And the 49ers' 2020 draft looks substantially better when the trade for All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams is taken into account. San Francisco traded a 2020 fifth-rounder and a 2021 third-rounder for Williams, who has earned four Pro Bowl nods and been named first-team All-Pro three times since joining the Niners.
Kinlaw was undoubtedly a huge miss and, for balance, it's worth pointing out that the 49ers, in addition to trading for Williams, also sent a 2020 second-round pick to the Chiefs in the previous offseason to acquire edge rusher Dee Ford. Ford featured in just 18 games in three seasons for the 49ers owing to injuries.
Still, this was a draft that netted the 49ers, with the Williams trade included, four long-term contributors, two of whom are stars among the best at their respective positions. When Aiyuk and the 49ers finally come to terms, it will rubber stamp San Francisco's 2020 draft as a success.
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