49ers' preseason proves John Lynch made a major mistake in NFL Draft
The San Francisco 49ers knew they were going to have to rely heavily on their class of rookies from the 2025 NFL Draft.
What they couldn't have known, however, was just how substantial the injury problem would be by the time the preseason wrapped up four months later. Not even general manager John Lynch could have foreseen the sheer number of injury setbacks his team has dealt with before the regular season even commenced.
In light of all that, there's one move on which Lynch and Co. would like to have a mulligan: selecting former Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins in Round 2.
Granted, Collins might turn into a quality player. But the early returns have been disappointing, and that's putting it lightly. From negative reports in training camp to underwhelming performances during the Niners' three preseason games, the 6-foot-5 and 332-pound defender has come nowhere close to meeting expectations. Instead, all signs are pointing to the former Longhorn likely needing a year, perhaps two, to get things sorted out.
Yet the ramifications of the Collins whiff of a signing (at least to date) extend far beyond merely using a second-round pick on an underdelivering player.
49ers' gaffe on Alfred Collins extends far beyond drafting a disappointment
Again, Lynch had no clue San Francisco's injuries would be as bad as they've been. That's understandable, even if hindsight suggests using the 43rd pick on, let's say, a wide receiver or a running back (two positions of significant injury attrition already) would have been a wiser move.
However, Lynch and the 49ers had to at least be aware of the potential of veteran wide receiver Jauan Jennings seeking an extension and/or threatening a holdout after posting career-best numbers in 2024 before entering a contract year in 2025. The Niners also had the Deebo Samuel trade to the Washington Commanders in the rearview mirror and were anticipating fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk not returning until midseason. Even their "high-profile" wide receiver free-agent pickup, Demarcus Robinson, was anticipating a three-game suspension to kick off the new year after a 2024 DUI. San Francisco knew that, too.
And yet the 49ers made the Collins selection anyway, putting off their wide receiver needs until grabbing Jordan Watkins in Round 4, and even he's now injured (no fault to Lynch on that one).
Granted, the 2025 draft class wasn't exactly loaded with top receiving talent, but a Round 2 trade-up to land Luther Burden III (No. 39 overall to the Chicago Bears) wouldn't have been impossible, and it wouldn't have exactly been a terrible idea to grab receivers Tre Harris or Jack Bech, who went later in the round to the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively.
We didn't even get into the offensive line neglect until Round 7, and it's fair to suggest Lynch and Co. would happily swap out Collins now for a promising O-lineman at this point.
Again, so much of it is hindsight, and Collins could still turn into a quality player.
But Lynch and the Niners are now going to have to wait and see if that happens while trying to use patchwork approaches to address the injury attrition they've had to deal with all summer.
