The 49ers on Tuesday said goodbye to another third-round pick. Tyrion Davis-Price after two seasons in San Francisco left to join the Philadelphia Eagles on a reserve/future contract. His departure is another confirmation of a failed third-round pick, something that’s become all-too-common in the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era.
Not that hitting on picks in the third-round is the key to good drafting. Finding good players anywhere in the draft is paramount, and the Shanahan-Lynch 49ers have been superb particularly in the later rounds finding viable starters and quality depth pieces. However, there’s still premium talent available later on Day 2 where San Francisco’s current front office has really struggled.
Take Davis-Price for instance. He was the second running back selected in the third-round by the 49ers in as many years. They took him in 2022 partly because RB Trey Sermon, their third-round pick from the year prior, struggled so much. Now both are gone before Sermon’s rookie contract is up.
It’s not just running backs though. Going back through the third-round picks in the Shanahan-Lynch tenure shows just how badly the team has missed in that portion of the draft, particularly over the last five years.
Let’s take a look at all 12 third-round picks in the seven drafts run by the Shanahan-Lynch duo, and then crunch some numbers to find out just how dire things are: