Ranking 49ers pairs of 1st-round picks

The 49ers have selected two players in the first round of the NFL draft 14 times since the AFL-NFL merger.

No. 5 | 2006 draft

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Pick 6: TE Vernon Davis
Pick 22: DE Manny Lawson

Davis was one of the NFL’s best tight ends for a mulit-year period in the late 2000s and early 2010s. His combination of size and speed made him a matchup nightmare. He led the NFL in touchdown receptions with a career-high 13 in 2009. That was when he made the first of his two Pro Bowls. He also landed there in 2013 when he tied his career-high in touchdown catches. Davis spent 10 years in San Francisco and racked up 5,640 receiving yards and 55 touchdown catches. That’s not bad for the No. 6 overall choice.

Lawson wasn’t bad with the 49ers, but he definitely came up short of expectations. The 22nd pick had 14.5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss in five seasons. He wound up having a pretty nice career overall, but it was a touch underwhelming for a first-round selection with his physical tools.