The 49ers may need nailed the 2024 NFL Draft

The idea of a group’s “closing window” is extra versatile and malleable than folks would possibly assume.

The San Francisco 49ers are seen as a type of groups with a closing championship window proper now. Kyle Shanahan’s group has misplaced two Tremendous Bowls to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs over the past 5 full seasons, and made it to the NFC Championship sport in each 2021 and 2022. The 49ers stand at 4-4 with their bye upcoming, however that’s not why they’re seen as a group supposedly on the decline.

The concern is that the group as structured is simply too reliant on costly veterans who’re getting older and should quickly be on the decline, and when the inevitable Brock Purdy second contract occurs, that can additional push the general group to top-heaviness in a monetary and adaptability sense.

The one potential offset to such considerations is to draft like champs, and in that regard, the 2024 49ers have performed so in addition to is feasible. Simply midway by way of the season, San Francisco already has 5 credible rookie starters — receiver Ricky Pearsall, cornerback Renardo Inexperienced, proper guard Dominick Puni, security Malik Mustapha, and working again Isaac Guerendo. That’s an unbelievable haul for one draft, and everybody within the constructing, beginning with Shanahan and basic supervisor John Lynch, ought to be fairly stoked about that.

“I’ve actually appreciated our rookie class,” Shanahan mentioned on October 23. “They’ve been robust for the reason that starting, the best way they got here to OTAs. I used to be actual impressed with them by way of coaching camp. I’m now. None of them actually, with the considered drafting, didn’t have beginning roles. However we had been excited with how they practiced and every thing and knew they’d give us some depth and now some are getting some alternatives due to harm and I’m glad we’ve got an excellent group there. I feel they’ll be prepared for the problem they usually look like a decent group.”

What have these gamers performed to amplify their NFL potential as a powerful collective? Let’s have a look.

Spherical 1, Decide 31: WR Ricky Pearsall

Pearsall, the Florida alum, was the most recent starter of the group, although by way of no fault of his personal – he was shot by way of the chest in an alleged theft try on August 31, and he returned to the sphere towards the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on October 20.

Based mostly on my pre-draft evaluation of Pearsall’s Florida tape, he seemed to me like a great “Z” receiver and slot weapon – probably not a chosen “X-Iso” receiver who’s going to win contested-catch battles on the catch level, however a man who is aware of the right way to get open in area together with his pace and route acumen. He jogged my memory in methods of Brandon Aiyuk in that regard, and with Aiyuk out for the remainder of the season, that’s necessary now. He additionally had a 39-yard run towards the Cowboys, which is nifty.

In two video games, Pearsall has seven catches on 9 targets for 59 yards, and most of these catches are of the variability you’d count on – performs the place he exhibits a preternatural potential to get open.

Count on extra from Pearsall because the season progresses, particularly if the 49ers don’t make a commerce earlier than the deadline to reinforce their Aiyuk-less roster.

Spherical 2, Decide 64: CB Renardo Inexperienced

Inexperienced, from Florida State, was one other private favourite within the pre-draft course of. I like aggressive press cornerbacks who will stand up on receivers shamelessly and really make it work. The Seminoles performed a ton of press final season with Inexperienced because the firestarter, and because the 49ers have been one of many NFL’s high groups when it comes to press protection price over the previous couple of seasons, that appeared like an ideal schematic match.

Within the first half of his rookie season, Inexperienced has allowed eight catches on 17 targets for 110 yards, 14 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer score of 83.0. The 2 touchdowns allowed – towards Tyler Lockett of the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6, and towards CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8 – had been probably not protection busts. The Lockett landing was a contested catch that might have gone both means, and the Lamb landing occurred as a result of security Ji’Ayir Brown ran into Inexperienced as Inexperienced was on the brink of cowl Lamb’s vertical route.

Inexperienced has been precisely what the 49ers needed with the choose – a wise, aggressive, fearless cornerback who can work previous his errors (which aren’t frequent), and can present enchancment over time.

Spherical 3, Decide 86: OG Dominick Puni

My pre-draft tape work on Puni was considerably restricted compared to a whole lot of offensive line prospects, however that didn’t matter ultimately as a result of after the 49ers chosen him, they moved Puni to a spot he didn’t inhabit. Puni racked up 849 snaps at left guard, 728 snaps at left sort out, one snap at heart, and 12 as an inline tight finish.

However the 49ers noticed Puni’s future at proper guard, they usually couldn’t have been extra proper about that. Puni has performed his new place at a stage you’d count on from a five-year veteran with a few Professional Bowls below his belt. He’s allowed no sacks, no quarterback hits, and 14 quarterback hurries in 305 pass-blocking reps, and he’s been an absolute menace as a run-blocker in an offense that has to cope with the absence of Christian McCaffrey all season lengthy.

I used to be on the Week 6 Thursday Night time Soccer sport through which San Francisco beat the Seahawks 36-24, and I requested future Corridor of Fame left sort out Trent WIlliams how superb it’s that Puni has performed this properly at a place he’d by no means performed earlier than. That Williams didn’t know Puni had by no means performed there kinda informed the entire story.

Spherical 4, Decide 124: Security Malik Mustapha

Again within the day, John Lynch was a harmful, head-hunting security who performed at a Corridor of Fame stage (inducted in 2021), so it is smart that one of many stars of San Francisco’s draft class is a participant with an identical profile. In his Wake Forest days, Malik Mustapha was extra of a field/slot/overhang defender than a real free security, and one in every of his major jobs was to return down and lay the wooden close to the road of scrimmage.

The 49ers have put Mustapha within the deep third way more usually, and he’s responded about in addition to Dominick Puni has – to the purpose the place you’d by no means know he hadn’t been there for years. Mustapha has allowed 4 catches on 11 targets for 18 yards, 16 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, two cross breakups, and an opponent passer score of 46.6.

It’s particularly enjoyable when Mustapha and Inexperienced get collectively to bounce opposing targets proper out of the membership!

Spherical 4, Decide 129: RB Isaac Guerendo

As was usually mentioned of the run video games designed by Kyle Shanahan’s father Mike again within the day, the 49ers completely have a knack for creating success for anyone getting the ball of their backfields. That’s been true of Jordan Mason as Christian McCaffrey’s major harm alternative this season, and it’s additionally been true of Isaac Guerendo, the 6-foot-0, 221-pound Louisville alum who set the scouting mix alight with a 4.33-second 40-yard sprint that was within the 98th percentile for working backs since 1999.

That measurement/pace mixture first confirmed up for actual on this 76-yard run towards the Seahawks…

… and it reared its head as soon as once more final Sunday towards Dallas’ misbegotten run protection – for which Guerendo made SB Nation’s Secret Superstars group.

Sure, the Shanahan run sport is a cheat code, however the working again in query nonetheless has to have the solutions to the check. Guerendo clearly does.

It’s clearly far too early to categorise this draft class as the most effective in latest NFL historical past, proper up there with the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 1996 Baltimore Ravens, the 2012 Seattle Seahawks, or the 2017 New Orleans Saints. However there’s loads of time for that form of hypothesis years down the street. An important factor for the 2024 49ers, and for any group that nails a draft to this diploma, is that it could actually take a closing aggressive window and bust it large open for seasons to return.

Proper now, that appears to be precisely what these 49ers have performed.