After an interesting start to their draft on Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers still had plenty of picks to make in Days 2 and 3 of the draft. While we covered first round pick Ricky Pearsall on Thursday, here’s a breakdown of the rest of the Niners’ rookie class of 2024:
2nd Round (64th overall): Renardo Green, Cornerback, Florida State
The Niners traded back one spot with the Chiefs to move up nearly 50 spots between the 5th and 6th rounds, and with the 64th and final pick of the 2nd round, they would get Renardo Green out of Florida State.
The first thing to know about Green? Physical. He’s a defensive back that’s going to get in your face, start grabbing your jersey, and try to stick on you on every snap like white on rice. His physicality is a blessing and a curse – often times he can be “too grabby” and get flagged for pass interference or holding. His height at 6’0 also will leave him susceptible to giving up catches to taller receivers on jump balls and fades. But the aggression, physicality, and most importantly the attitude is there – Green will be ready to scrap it up and attack you on defense.
Green is ideal for press man coverage – something that the Niners could have run a lot more last year instead of the soft zone coverages former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was calling. The pick likely signals a shift in defensive coverages with Daniel Sorenson and Brandon Staley on the defensive side now, and it gives the Niners another potential starting cornerback to play alongside Charvarious Ward and Deommodore Lenoir, who have been solid man coverage players in their own right.
Third Round (86th overall): Dominick Puni, offensive tackle/guard, Kansas
The hopes and pleas of every Niner fan was finally answered when John Lynch traded up with the Eagles for their third round pick; they finally selected an offensive lineman, and a potential starting-caliber one at that! Puni is an experienced starter, playing primarily at left tackle with some starts at guard. His best asset his nimble feet and quickness, allowing him to burst out of his stance get out as a blocker in open space. This will make him especially useful as a puller, where he would need to quickly move from one side to another and start blocking past the defensive line and into the second level of the field. Considering Kyle Shanahan’s love for motion in the run game and using lineman to pull and misdirect, Puni is an instant fit for that.
The Niners biggest need over the last two years was better play from their offensive line, whether it be from their existing players or new ones. It seems that Puni may be projected more as a guard than a tackle at the NFL level, which means he would be primarily in competition with Spencer Burford, Jon Feliciano, and Aaron Banks for a starting role on the line. Finally, a stat that should make 49ers fans instantly excited: Puni did not give up a sack in his entire last season that he played. Brock Purdy probably smiled when he heard about that.
Fourth Round (124th overall): Malik Mustapha, Safety, Wake Forest
San Francisco’s next pick came from the infamous Trey Lance trade – er, the second infamous Trey Lance trade. Malik Mustapha is known as a great tackler and great run defender – a couple of things that often define a great safety. He is naturally aggressive to come down against the run game, but that also leaves him susceptible to being out of position on play fakes. Mustapha lacks the build and the man coverage abilities to go one-on-one with NFL tight ends, and his pass coverage is more reactive and proactive, making him likely to be a backup to start his career. However, the Niners safety depth was certainly challenged last year when All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga went down with an ACL tear, and their other starting safety Tashaun Gipson is currently a free agent. Mustapha and his aggressive play will be a welcome addition to the back end of the Niners secondary.
Fourth Round (129th overall): Isaac Guerendo, running back, Louisville
Kyle Shanahan resisted for as long as he could, but once again his addiction got the best of him. For the third time in four years, the 49ers traded up to select a running back. This time, it would be Louisville running back Isaac Guerendo.
At 6 ft and 221 lbs, Guerendo is a bigger back than what the Niners normally draft. But don’t let that deceive you – he posted one of the fastest 40 times at 4.33 seconds, making him a unique blend of size, speed, and power in a running back. Guerendo tested with an athleticism score of 99, ranking in the 99th percentile amongst prospects and at the absolute top amongst all running backs. Guerendo hardly ever goes down on first contact, and has shown himself to be a valuable asset on passing downs, both as a great pass catcher and a pass blocker in the backfield. While not quite as dynamic, Guerendo’s draft profile reads very similarly to Brock Purdy’s running mate at Iowa State in Breece Hall, who is certainly a starting caliber running back in the NFL.
But it turns out that the 49ers already have a pretty good running back in Christian McCaffrey, who is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year. Once again, the Niners just have a tendency to draft a running back they don’t necessarily need, only for them to get little to no playing time and eventually get cut before their rookie contract is up. The last two running backs selected in Tyrion Davis-Price and Trey Sermon weren’t even on the team after two years. Who knows whether Guerendo will break the rather unfortunate curse the Niners have self imposed on themselves, but regardless, you have to wonder whether this was the pick that needed to be made with one of your last high value picks when there’s still plenty of higher priority needs that should be addressed.
Fourth Round (135th overall): Jacob Cowing, Wide Receiver, Arizona
With that being said, San Francisco’s third fourth round pick in the draft became their second wide receiver of the draft in Arizona’s Jacob Cowing. Cowing is even more of a slot receiver than first round pick Ricky Pearsall is, and at 5’8 and 168 pounds soaking wet, it’s more likely that he’ll have to stay in the slot. Cowing does possess major speed and quickness, which showed with a 4.38 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine. However, at that size combined a lack of continuity on route running as he goes down the field, he makes it hard for himself to be used down the field, as he’ll be unable to separate from larger defenders who will catch up and outmuscle him at the catch point. Cowing will probably best be used as a slot receiver on underneath routes for short yardage situations – ideally for a third and short where the ball comes out fast and he uses that quickness to get open.
Once again, you can certainly question the need for another wide receiver, especially when they just drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round and will presumably keep Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk at this point. At best, Cowing will be the WR5 behind Aiyuk-Deebo-Jennings-Pearsall – certainly there were other positions to upgrade other than WR5? Cowing’s best chance to see the field though might be on special teams – Cowing has experience with punt returns in college, and could very well be in line to replace Ray-Ray McCloud as the Niners punt returner this fall.
Sixth Round (215th overall): Jarrett Kingston, offensive guard, USC
The Niners wouldn’t have another pick for over two hours, but once they got back on the clock, they selected another man in the trenches. The protector of Caleb Williams last year, Kingston was elite in explosive testing and speed testing with a 92 overall athleticism score, ranking third amongst guard prospects. This speed and athleticism allows him to be an effective run blocker in a zone blocking scheme – the exact scheme Kyle Shannahan employs. Kingston posesses great versatility, as he played across the line at both tackle and guard spots in his college career. However, it will be unlikely that Kingston finds time outside of the interior line, as his shorter arms often gets him in trouble against long-armed athletic pass rushers sweeping around him. While he’ll likely compete at the guard position, there could very well be a chance that Kyle Shanahan asks him to start learning the one position he hasn’t tried yet – center. With Jake Brendel being 32 in September and hardly deemed as irreplaceable, Kingston could very well see his best chance at making the roster at center.
Seventh Round (251st overall): Tatum Bethune, linebacker, Florida State
And with their final pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Niners selected a linebacker from Florida State. Bethune led that vaunted Florida State defense in tackles last year and had over 70 tackles for three straight seasons of his college career. Bethune’s best asset is his quick processing speed combined with natural athleticism and instincts in coverage, allowing him to be a capable linebacker in pass coverage. Bethune plays with great aggression and will fly to the ball, which can lead to both big tackles for losses or missed tackles that end up being huge gains. When linebacker Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs were able to immediately capitalize on the weakness of his backup Oren Burks in pass coverage against Travis Kelce. Greenlaw will still miss an extended period of time this season, meaning that the 49ers needed to find depth with hopefully a stronger pass coverage ability than before. Bethune will likely have to compete with guys like De;Vondre Campbell, Dee Winters, and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles to show he could be the guy to step up as a coverage linebackers.
Final Thoughts of the 49ers Draft
If I had to pick one word to describe the Niners 2024 draft class, it’d be athleticism. It’s clear that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch went out to find some of the most athletic draft profiles in the class this year to fill an already very talented team up. Having a good base athleticism can often give you a chance to see a way onto the field in several different facets than just your assigned position. Offensive versatility has been the name of the game for years now under Kyle Shanahan, and any defense could use a couple more freaks of nature to defend against the new age NFL offenses where anyone can line up anywhere and stretch you both vertically and horizontally on the field. I also believe this speaks to the confidence Kyle Shanahan has in himself and his coaching staff – just give him the raw talent, and he’ll mold and scheme them into something that can elevate this Super Bowl contending roster. You can teach skills like tackling, route running, and footwork, but you can’t teach natural athleticism.
But if I had a second word? Old. Every single one of the prospects selected were seniors, ranging from 4 to even 6 years of playing experience in college. The Niners were looking for more finished products as rookies, and while there may be a lower eventual ceiling for these players, this also makes them more likely to be able to contribute right away at the pro level, from both an experience as well as a physically mature standpoint (none of them will need to put on or lose weight to match up with pros). Almost every single one of these players are aware of the type of player they are and what they can contribute – this will make the learning curve much faster.
Over the last two drafts for the 49ers, only 5 players out of 18 picks have become starting players for the team (and one is a kicker), with the rest barely contributing at all. Perhaps the original plan for those classes were to sit and develop them, or maybe they just didn’t pan out. But regardless, by picking such old rookies, it is clear that they are expecting this draft class to step up and step in right away with a shot at the Super Bowl on the line once again.
The Niners are at a critical juncture of their Super Bowl window, where this will probably be the final inexpensive year for both quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, as both will have their rookie contracts expire soon. Beyond that, their left tackle Trent Williams will be 37 by next year, running back Christian McCaffrey will be 29 (30 and older is a death knell for RBs), and tight end George Kittle being 32. If they cannot find inexpensive young players to begin to step up and replace the aging expensive stars, this could be the last premier year of title contention for the 49ers. This next rookie class faces a difficult challenge ahead of them: not only will they have to prove right away that they deserve this chance to become a professional football player, but they’ll have to do enough to get this team over the hump and win a Super Bowl right away. The road ahead will be difficult, but hopefully these rookies will add to the great winning culture that has been part of the 49ers organization for years now. Congratulations to the rookie class of 2024 – welcome to the NFL.
The Bay Area Sports Counsel 