John Lynch is saying the obvious part out loud. He claimed the San Francisco 49ers are planning on using the NFL Draft to reload this team. Well, that goes without saying after Lynch offloaded his team and made no splashy moves this free agency.
Maybe they were making room for Brock Purdy’s pending contract. Whatever the case, Lynch now has to completely revamp this team if he wants to get back to the Super Bowl after a lackluster 2024 season.
Lynch didn’t have to tell us his plan — which is to use the draft, go cheap and gamble on rookie talent — because it's clearly the only option left. It’s not inherently a bad one though, because Kyle Shanahan doesn’t need an all-pro roster to win. He just needs a healthy one. So opting for young talent and taking a page out of Sean McVay’s book while retaining the most important players could, in a roundabout way, work out.
John Lynch is preparing for a quick rebuild in San Francisco
An underwhelming 2024 season put a lot of things in perspective for Lynch and his 49ers team. They had a lot of money on payroll and not enough production from the roster. So they decided to let Dre Greenlaw walk, traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders and will let the draft determine their fate.
It could end up being a move that Lynch looks back on and feels good about if the team gets back to NFL supremacy — or a move that sets the 49ers back further than the rest of the NFL. The 49ers have been good at drafting so it might just work.
The biggest question mark remaining is Purdy's value. Sam Darnold warranted $30 million and despite Purdy's injury issues, he's been far more successful than Darnold. But does he warrant a top-tier contract?
Whatever his value is — along with Fred Warner and George Kittle — the 49ers are clearly prepared to pay him whatever it costs with the moves they’ve made.
The good thing about the approach of using this draft to revamp this roster is rebuilding the defensive line shouldn’t be a problem. They let Jordan Mason go in free agency and finding a running back in this draft should be easy.
They could ultimately find a backup for Purdy, add a young receiver to replenish what Samuel brought and even find some defensive backs. This is a good draft for the 49ers to fill the roster holes that fans have been asking about all offseason.