The GM John Lynch. Success or Failure?

The San Francisco 49ers find themselves in a peculiar situation. A 9-7 record coming into week 18 gives HC Kyle Shanahan his second winning season since he took over the reigns of the franchise. However that guarantees them nothing. In order to make the playoffs, the Niners need either a win or a Saints loss to get in. A Saints win and a Niners loss would see another year end in the regular season. The Niners do not have an easy matchup, they face the Rams in LA who need a win in order to clinch the NFC west. However, Kyle Shanahan is 5-0 vs Sean McVay in their last five matchups. The Saints play the Atlanta Falcons on the road, Atlanta being eliminated last week after their loss to Buffalo.

If the Niners win, the Shanahan/Lynch duo will look to make their second Super Bowl in three years. If they lose and the Saints win, it will be four missed playoffs in five years. Let’s take a deeper look into John Lynch’s tenure as GM.

Following a successful NFL career which ended with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the former Buccaneers and Broncos safety embarked on a broadcasting career. Having a very successful resume, being an important part of Monte Kiffin’s and Tony Dungy’s Tampa 2 defense along with winning a Super Bowl under Jon Gruden, it seemed as if Lynch had accomplished every goal available in Pro Football.

Lynch who still has the passion for the game decided he wanted to take a more hands on approach. The San Francisco 49ers came calling and on January 29, 2017, Lynch was named General Manager. His first few moves were a stroke of brilliance. The hiring of Kyle Shanahan, a highly valued coordinator on the market who reinvented the Atlanta Falcons offense, an offense which led the Falcons to the Super Bowl and won Matt Ryan a MVP.

With the 2017 Draft approaching, Lynch and the Niners were in need of a quarterback. He released Colin Kaepernick due to a “scheme misfit” with Shanahan’s system. With the second overall pick, Lynch and the Niners were rumored to draft Mitchell Trubisky out of North Carolina. The Bears in need of a quarterback, traded their third overall pick along with their 3rd and 4th round selections to move up one spot. A stroke of brilliance followed by failure. Despite having both Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes available to fill their quarterback need, Lynch went elsewhere. With the third overall pick, he selected DT Solomon Thomas out of Stanford. A pick which didn’t work out and San Francisco got rid of him after four years. I have no problem with the Thomas selection, he was a highly rated prospect out of college. However in the previous two drafts, the Niners took interior lineman in the first round. Deforest Buckner in 2016 and Arik Armstead in 2015, both out of Oregon. Then Lynch traded back into the first in 2017 to select Reuben Foster. An excellent linebacker out of Alabama, legal and personal issues made NFL executives cautious of him. The Niners gambled and failed. He had a fantastic rookie season followed by legal issues which forced the Niners to release him. However this draft was not a failure as with his fifth round selection, the Niners selected All Pro TE George Kittle. They also added UDFAs Matt Breida and Kendrick Bourne, two essential pieces in their Super Bowl run. His crowning piece came on the verge of the trade deadline. A second round pick to New England saw Jimmy Garoppolo become the new face of the franchise. The season ended with Jimmy G being forced into action due to injuries to the Niners other quarterbacks. He went 5-0.

The next season filled with hope was quickly dashed when Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL in week 3. The Niners finished 4-12. However all was not lost as All-Pro Nick Bosa was selected second overall in the following draft.

The Niners filled with talent started the 2019 season 8-0 and finished 13-3 to grab the number one seed in the NFC. In John Lynch’s best draft, Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, Dre Greenlaw and Mitch Wishnowsky all assisted a phenomenal year alongside FA signings Kwon Alexander, Dee Ford and trade acquisitions Laken Tomlinson and Emmanuel Sanders. The team made it to the Super Bowl and despite being up in the 4th quarter by 10 points, the Niners allowed the Chiefs to comeback and win. The loss not on Lynch’s shoulders but on Shanahan’s.

The following season saw the Niners lose many of their players early in the season against the Jets in New Jersey. Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, George Kittle and Raheem Mostert missed significant time if not the whole season. The Niners finished 6-10.

Here’s where my criticisms of Lynch start. Coming into the 2020 draft, a lot of teams were looking for a quarterback. The first round projected selections turned out to be phenomenal with most first rounders experiencing a significant amount of early success. Names like Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, Devonta Smith, Rashawn Slater, Penei Sewell, Kyle Pitts, Pat Surtain II, Micah Parsons, Najee Harris, Jamin Davis, Rashod Bateman, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Odafe Oweh all having standout seasons. This was also suppose to be a quarterback filled draft with the talents of Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones all expected to be first round selections, there was also rumors surrounding David Mills and Kellan Mond. Lynch looking to upgrade his QB room decided to trade up to third from twelve in order to get his guy. A steep price saw Miami get the Niners 2021 first round selection along with a 2021 first, a 2022 third and a 2023 first. That’s a lot of capitol for a quarterback when Jimmy is still under contract for multiple years. I didn’t think it necessary to move up. The teams ahead of the Niners were the Jags, Jets, Dolphins, Falcons, Bengals, Eagles, Lions, Panthers, Broncos, Cowboys and Giants. I knew the Jaguars and Jets would select quarterbacks but no other team seemed to be in the market for a QB. The Niners went with Trey Lance from NDSU with the third overall pick and to be short, he’s been a project. In his few starts, he’s been consistently outperformed by multiple young quarterbacks which is fine if the Niners didn’t give up their early draft capitol for the next two years. Only time will tell if it pays off.

Lynch has had an up and down career as GM. Most of his picks haven’t paid off but the ones that do are potential Hall of Famers. The Niners lack severe depth at receiver, corner, safety and edge rushers. They’re also on the verge of missing the playoffs again. His predecessor Trent Baalke was a horrible GM, only surviving because of his Kaepernick selection and the work of Jim Harbaugh so Lynch has definitely been an improvement. However the Niners have gaping holes all over the field and have lacked consistency outside of their Super Bowl run. It’s hard to justify Lance’s selection when 4 of the next 10 selections made the Pro Bowl as rookies and Smith, Surtain II, Waddle and Sewell are all having monster rookie seasons. Also note that majority of the players I mentioned play positions for which the Niners lack depth and talent.

Here’s my final thoughts. Lynch has had seven first round picks yet hasn’t built a sustainable roster. His massive contract extensions given to Jet McKinnon and Weston Richberg blew up in his face. He’s allowed Trent Brown to leave, considering him to be not up to standard, just for him to blossom in New England and to me the most egregious move was keeping Arik Armstead and trading Deforest Buckner. I understand you couldn’t keep both but I personally was against that move from day one. However Lynch has rebuilt a franchise that suffered greatly from the horrific decision making skills of Trent Baalke, Chip Kelly and Jim Tomsula. He’s turned them into contenders and they’re peaking at the right time. I consider Lynch to be a success so far despite his multitude of failings due to his ability to draft superstars. Bosa, Samuel and Kittle are arguably the only reason he still has a job. But if he and the Niners fail to make the playoffs once again, I think serious questions about his job need to be asked and if Trey Lance is a bust, then he’s got to go.