No. 8 | 2016 draft
Pick 7: DL DeForest Buckner
Pick 28: OL Joshua Garnett
It took a couple years for Buckner to garner recognition as a dominant force at defensive tackle, but he was superb in four years with the 49ers. His 12 sacks in 2018 earned him a Pro Bowl nod, and he was a Second-Team All-Pro in 2019 after putting up 7.5 sacks and spearheading a very good 49ers defensive line. San Francisco traded Buckner for the No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 draft when he was due to enter the final year of his rookie deal, but his production was excellent when he was in red and gold.
Trading up to select Garnett was former general manager Trent Baalke’s final huge misstep. Garnett was either not in playing shape or injured during most of his 49ers tenure. He got 11 starts in 15 games as a rookie, missed all of his second year, and played in seven games with no starts while battling injuries in his third season. Garnett was cut heading into his fourth year.
Buckner was good enough to make up for the Garnett miss, but moving back into the first round needs to come with at least a little more success than 11 starts in three years.