John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan explain motives for 49ers' Day 3 2026 NFL draft picks
San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan speak to reporters following Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday at Levi's Stadium.
John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan explain motives for 49ers' Day 3 2026 NFL draft picks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
Preamble?
Yeah, I'll give a little preamble.
I do wanna thank, I wanna thank the entire crew.
I wanna make a couple shout-outs.
Jessie Samalo, she does the logistics on all the travel of all these guys as they come in and out.
Stribling family was here today, and it just, it, it made me, remember that.
I also wanna thank, Kwesi, Brian Hampton, Parag.
you know, we made a, a few trades in this thing, I think five in total, and those guys were awesome, kinda working, working their way around the league, allowing us to go back, c-come up, and, make a lot of calls to, explore other opportunities.
And, start with that, and then open for questions.
L-let me ask about one of the guys that you drafted today.
Dugger seems to bear a lot of resemblance physically to his linebacker's coach now.
Yeah.
I mean, was that kind of discussed when you were talking about him, and what is your vision for where he, might end up playing?
I actually, I was looking through my phone after we As I saw something, and I said, "Kyle Baros is pretty perceptive," because I remember a draft meeting where KJ, you know, was becoming extremely convicted on the young man, and I said, "Wait just a sec.
Throw up KJ's card."
We got this cool tail of the tape, and I said, "You're trying to draft yourself."
And, and I think he was.
And, if, if we come anywhere close to that, it'd be a really good thing.
Dugger was a c- was a cool prospect.
interesting story.
Went to Georgetown as a safety.
after two years, goes to Lafayette and, is playing kind of an edge.
This year they moved him to linebacker.
plays some over the slot, so, 84 and a half inch wingspan, 35-inch arms.
Really intriguing dude.
And, you know, we just wanna get him in the building.
I think there's, impact he can make right away, but then development that we really believe he can be a, a really fun player to work with and a really impactful player for our team.
You see him on, on the strong side, Mike?
You, you mentioned Mike.
Yeah.
He can p- he can play some Mike.
I think he has the aptitude to do that.
I think long-term, you know, the length allows him a lot of different, avenues to, to contribute, both at the will and the Sam.
I mean, it's just kind of a, a lot of versatility that he, that he brings to the table.
you guys did not, draft a safety.
Is that a vote of confidence for the guys you have, and how do you see that room right now?
you know, as for not drafting a safety, you know, there, there were some guys that came off, and look, the, this thing's still going on.
We've got some free agents and all that.
We've, we've got a group that we really do like, but kinda the way the b- the board fell, it just didn't work out.
And, love what we were able to add.
The work's not over.
Kyle, for you, how do you see, Willis fitting in?
I know he played a lot of tackle in, in college.
Do you see the traits that could move him inside, and would he be in the mix now for that left guard spot?
Yeah, we'll start him off inside, see if he can do it there, and give him a chance to try to earn that spot.
Can I ask the, the dreaded question of, of any Brandon Aiyuk update now that the draft's about done and what your plans are with him?
no, no new update right now.
you know, we're available.
give us a call.
and, you know, like, like I said earlier, I think it's the prudent thing to do.
He's extremely talented player.
He's been a extremely effective player, in our league.
situation didn't work itself out here.
That's not to say that it can't be rekindled somewhere else, and, we'd be happy to, to, to do something with anyone if, if the opportunity presented itself.
But you're not, you're not planning on releasing him right now?
Not anytime soon.
What's that?
Not, not, not right now.
Right now.
Yeah.
John, your draft board seems to deviate, quite a bit from the consensus.
why are you confident with that given your, track record drafting the last few years?
It seems like it leads to you making reaches.
Well, I appreciate that you think that.
depends whose consensus.
We got consensus in this building.
That's the, that's the consensus I care about.
J-John, you mentioned Kwesi.
Just c-can you kind of illuminate what, what his role was in, in this draft process?
And I think you had mentioned that after the draft you'd settle on a title or kinda what his- Yeah what would be next for him.
Is, is there anything there in terms of titles or- I mean, Kwesi's a guy.
I, I think I'd put it in the same vein as Ethan Waugh.
both were here, both valuable members of our front office, both guys that Kyle and I and everybody here valued.
And so they went elsewhere in different roles.
those opportunities came to the end, and we were presented with an opportunity to bring them back, and we jumped at the opportunity to do both.
So both those guys will settle in, be a part of us going forward, and we're, we're really, happy for that.
Over there.
with Cruz, you know, obviously later round offensive tackles don't generally project to be, like, eventual, you know, starters necessarily.
But what qualities does he have that would suggest that, like, he could maybe develop into something?
Yeah, Cruz is, you know, it's a, it's a guy that throughout the process we became very intrigued with.
Chris Foerster went out, worked him out, and I think that was a big step for us.
you're looking at a guy that amongst all the offensive linemen had the fastest 20 time, that has, the highest vertical jump, the highest speed of any of the offensive tackles in a game.
Now is that all valuable for a offensive tackle?
We'll see.
But it, it speaks to the type of athlete he is.
And, you know, we, we had a good feel on him.
we did more work and got to a point where, we think he's a tackle, we think he may have guard flex, but we're excited to add him to the, to the, offensive line group, to add some competition.
what'd you guys see in, in Holton?Um, plays the style that we like, to play.
Plays in the, you know, the opposing offense's backfield, attacking style.
team captain, really impactful player.
And, I, You talk to the people at Oklahoma, they rave about him, and, we're really, you know, surprised he lasted that long and, really thrilled to, to pounce on him when, when he got there.
Kyle, now that you have these eight picks, they're the responsibility of the coaching staff.
When, when you look at these players, what, what's realistic to expect from this draft class as rookies as far as, starters, key contributors on that fifty-three man roster?
I mean, I'm always hoping that we got a chance that all these guys make the team.
I mean, that's kinda the goal with all your draft picks, and when you go in with six and you can find a way to get eight, if we can find eight guys to make our fifty-three, I mean, you get a lot better.
Now, I think starting with free agency, how free agency went, I think that's gonna be a huge challenge, and that's why you get in some spots and you're like, "Man, I really want to take this position," but the best available here I don't think can beat out who we have.
whether you wanna get better or not at that position, like, it doesn't always show that way, and I think we really did good in free agency, so I think it'll be a challenge for all eight of these guys to make our team.
I think we have a chance for a couple guys possibly to start or have a chance to start, and I think a number of these guys can be a big part or have a chance to start two years from now, when you have some unrestricted free agents, that we lose.
So, overall, I hope all eight guys just contribute.
I, I think you guys picked up one, pick for next year, w- with one of these trades.
How, how much did the 2027 draft, it's got a, already got a reputation as being a really good draft, did that play into your process when you were doing your board this year and going through the draft this year?
I mean, was it a, a point to try to pick up picks for '27?
Yeah.
There's a lot of indications that next year's draft is gonna be, be strong, you know?
And, I think certainly at the quarterback position, you know, which often can kinda push a lot of players back.
And so, we'll see.
You know, I think there was, was thought early this year that that would be the case, and so these things are kind of, always fluid.
but the opportunity to add, a pick for next year presented itself at some point.
It did on a couple other occasions.
We took the one opportunity, and that's nice to have.
And, so, we're happy to have added that, and, and, you know, just kinda made decisions as they came.
In most instances, we were happy with the, the, players we had, and we decided to stay and pick.
I think that was one of the coolest things with this draft, you know, just so you don't reach on somebody.
Like, i- if there's somebody you know you're gonna take at that spot, and your consensus or w- all your homework from around the league, not necessarily like Twitter or, media stuff, just, like, the things you investigate on when people are gonna go, and if you know you're gonna take someone who you think is the best player and, but you don't think they're gonna go until, like, fifteen picks later, 20 picks later, it's always a huge risk, 'cause you never find out when they're gonna go if you take them there.
The times that we did feel that way, like at 27, like at 30, and you're able to move back and create stuff later, I forget what it was, but we got a six-round pick for next year, and we don't have a six-round pick for next year, and we were able to still get our guy.
I forget what we moved back to, whatever that was.
But the guy we would've taken, we got 15 picks later, and you pick up a six for next year where we had a hole.
Or the guy we would've taken at seven, you moved to 30, and to move to 33.
And so all that stuff, was really cool to get the guys that you want but also find a way to get eight players when you only had six bullets, and also gain a draft pick for next year, which sometimes you trade before the trade deadline, like I think we have in the last couple years.
so it was just And to get these guys that we had, it was really neat.
Take two more.
Yeah.
Ky- Kyle, I just wanted to get your opinion on Kalen Black and what you saw from him and how you can picture him in your offense.
I mean, I'd It always starts with me with just who's the most, you know, natural running back.
Like, I love third down backs, all the pass game stuff that people can bring, but when it just comes to running the ball, I mean, you need to have more than one starter, and we've gone through a number of years here where we've been through at least four backs.
Last year was one of the abnormal years where, and n- it was awesome, but our starting back was able to stay healthy.
usually it, it's, it happens a lot.
It's not just the one, it's the two.
We've gone through four a number of times.
And so what he could do as a true starting running back is what I liked.
A guy, if you ever had to give him more carries, could he hit the right hole?
Can he move the chains?
When you only block it for three, can he get five?
the physicality he ran with, how he broke tackles, when he did get in open space, how he didn't sit there and stutter his feet.
He just broke to open spots and got yards in.
and then what he did at his pro day, when you see a tough, hard-nosed runner who ends up running the 40 that he did, to know what else is in his body for more expositive, explosiveness and stuff like that.
And, you know, they didn't throw him the ball a lot, but when you watch his senior bowl, you watch his older tape from his other school, you see that, that he has that skill set that you can really develop.
And, you know, you got a guy you can win with.
Three more, guys.
Noah then Matt.
W- with Holton, he's a guy that transitioned from end inside early in his time at Oklahoma.
How much did his get off quickness from- Yeah that background being outside jump off the tape playing inside?
Yeah.
I- it's a good point.
I mean, that's, that's really what you see with him, a extremely explosive player, and I think it goes to, like, you look at everything in the process, most of all the film, but then you look at his testing.
He's over thirty-six inches in the vertical jump, and that translates to the, the film that you watch.
Boom, he's off the ball.
He's in the opposing team's backfield.
And, that's just who we kinda wanna be.
And so it really translated well.
And so, you know, if that came, I don't know where it came from, but we're glad he has it, and it fits really well with what we do.
We think he's gonna be a great addition.
The, the, all, all eight picksSeem to kind of, make a favorable first impression, you know, when they talk to us in the, in the press room.
A-as you've gotten into this longer and longer, is, personality and character something that maybe you guys lean into a little bit more than you even have in the past?
I think the longer you do it, you know, what I, I think like, you know, you, you look at the, the data, yeah, you look at the, the background and, our history, the history throughout football and, and it there's no absolutes.
It's one thing Kyle always says that I, I really believe in.
but those things matter.
the NFL's hard.
It's, it's tough, it's long.
it's tiresome.
You're gonna be challenged, you know.
and who, who has the mental fortitude, the mental toughness to fight through that?
The way we do things is tough.
We're gonna have a lot of fun, but we're gonna work really hard.
And so I think what translates is guys who have those qualities, and that's something I think we've always coveted.
you're right, probably over time you, you covet it even more.
A-as far as the, the Dee Winters trade, does that speak to, Nick Martin at all and, and his readiness, and you expect him to be, you know, part of the off-season program and, and OTAs and, and things like that?
I think it speaks to that whole room.
you know, we, we just we had gotten up there in numbers.
we had a team who was, who was very interested in, in a player.
they were kind of, I won't say aggressive, but they just stayed on it and, you know, it makes you kinda look at things.
Dee was gonna be a free agent after this season.
we liked our numbers.
We, we thought we would likely draft a player, in this draft, and we wanted to have the opportunity to, to do that, and, Dee got a great opportunity, with the Cowboys.
And so when all those things matched up, the compensation was right, we made that move.
And, and has Nick been taking part in all the activities?
Yeah, Nick's here.
Okay.
And he's, he's working hard and working great.
Yeah.
All right.
Thanks, guys.
Thank you.
Thanks, guys.
