As the 2022 NFL Draft approaches, the 49ers will face a difficult task of adding impact players to a Super Bowl-ready roster without a pick inside the top 60.
By virtue of last March's blockbuster trade to move up and select Trey Lance with the third overall pick, the 49ers will be without a first-round selection until 2024 barring a trade. San Francisco also has yet to find a team willing to surrender a second-round pick for incumbent starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, so they are set to enter the draft with nine selections, starting with the No. 61 overall pick in the backend of the second round.
The 49ers signed cornerback Charvarius Ward in free agency, but still have a depth need at cornerback. San Francisco also has needs at safety, offensive and defensive line depth and wide receiver. In order to maximize, the year in which Lance is on his rookie contract, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have to succeed in the draft without a first-round pick.
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But, how?
Lynch and Shanahan must nail the evaluation process on their top four selections -- Nos. 61, 93, 105 and 134 -- and make sure the 49ers add four players who can contribute in 2022.
The 49ers' power couple's draft history has shown an ability to find value in the later rounds.
George Kittle was a fifth-round pick. Fred Warner selected in the third. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was taken in the fifth round in 2019. Defensive tackle D.J. Jones, who recently left in free agency, was a sixth-round find, as was running back Elijah Mitchell, who carried the 49ers' ground attack in last season.
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Lynch and Shanahan have had some draft misses. Reuben Foster, Dante Pettis and Jalen Hurd come to mind. But they've also discovered stars and key contributors, like Tarvarius Moore, Jauan Jennings and Kentavius Street, in the money rounds of the draft.
The 2022 draft class should allow Lynch and Shanahan to do this again.
While the draft class doesn't have the upper-echelon buzz of previous iterations, it is very deep at receiver, corner and on the lines.
Exactly where the 49ers need to strike, especially as they play the waiting game as it pertains to Garoppolo.
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In the backend of the second round, the 49ers should be able to find talent at either corner or offensive line.
Florida's Kair Elam, a talented, press-man corner, could be an option as could Auburn's Roger McCreary, Washington's Kyler Gordon or UTA's Tariq Woolen.
If the 49ers look to the trenches with their first pick, I'd spotlight either LSU's Ed Ingram or Georgia's Jamaree Salyer.
In the fourth and fifth rounds, the 49ers could look at UCLA defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia or Oregon safety Verone McKinley.
The 49ers have shown in the past that you can find blue-chip players long after the first round has ended, and it'll be imperative for Lynch and Shanahan to do so again to continue finetuning one of the best rosters in the NFL.