You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The 49ers did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D+.
The Lee III pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with wide receiver, running back and other spots still on the board. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through wide receiver.
Hill Jr. falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.21
· Pick 21
· Monroe Freeling
· OT
· rank 26
Monroe Freeling in pick No. 21 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R2.24
· Pick 56
· Anthony Hill Jr.
· LB
· rank 38
Circle this one: Anthony Hill Jr. at the Round 2 slot is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R2.30
· Pick 62
· A.J. Haulcy
· S
· rank 50
A slide stopped in No. 62, with A.J. Haulcy worth more than the price. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
R3.3
· Pick 67
· Eli Stowers
· TE
· rank 53
Eli Stowers slipping to the 67th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R4.8
· Pick 108
· Treydan Stukes
· CB
· rank 96
The board had Treydan Stukes higher than the 108th overall pick, and the cornerback fell to them anyway. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R4.27
· Pick 127
· Keylan Rutledge
· OG
· rank 114
Value with a capital V on Keylan Rutledge in pick 127, a genuine coup. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R4.33
· Pick 133
· Parker Brailsford
· C
· rank 130
A tidy little value on Parker Brailsford in pick 133, a step better than break-even. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R4.38
· Pick 138
· Will Lee III
· CB
· rank 124
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending pick No. 138 on Will Lee III with wide receiver, running back and other spots unsolved.
R4.39
· Pick 139
· Chris McClellan
· DT
· rank 142
They took Chris McClellan at par in Round 4, Pick 39, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.