SANTA CLARA — The 49ers traded up Friday night to secure the player who was the consensus pick among everyone in the team’s draft room.
Cheers erupted when the card was delivered that identified Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown as the 49ers’ selection in the third round with the No. 87 overall pick.
Then, 49ers general manager John Lynch made the decision that was sure to be met with plenty of skepticism — inside and outside the organization.
San Francisco selected Michigan kicker Jake Moody with the 99th overall pick to replace reliable veteran Robbie Gould.
“There wasn’t the applause we got when we took Ji’Ayir Brown in our own room,” Lynch admitted. “But I think everyone knows it’s necessary. And everyone feels really good about this kid.”
The 49ers selected a kicker in the NFL Draft earlier than any team since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ ill-fated decision to use the 59th pick of 2016 on Robert Aguayo.
Moody now will be entrusted to take over for the most accurate kicker in 49ers history.
San Francisco 49ers
After six successful seasons with the 49ers, Gould stated before the start of free agency he would not be re-signing with the team.
Earlier this offseason, the 49ers made a trade for veteran Zane Gonzalez for a conditional swap of seventh-round draft picks in 2025. Gonzalez, it turns out, was just a placeholder.
Now it is clear, Moody will be the man to take over for Gould.
“I think you put this much work in to make the roster as competitive as we have, you’re going to be in a lot of close games and kickers matter,” Lynch said.
Through the scouting of special-teams coordinator Brian Schneider and the 49ers’ personnel department, Moody impressed the team’s decision-makers and separated himself from the group of other draft-eligible kickers.
“We were fortunate to have three third-round picks, and we felt he was worthy of one,” Lynch said of Moody.
Although the 49ers also had a selection at No. 101, they decided to take Moody at No. 99 because they did not want to take the chance of one of the other handful of kicker-needy teams jumping them.
Lynch said he received a congratulatory text from a special-teams coach with another team that read, "Great pick. Great spot."
Said Lynch, "That meant something to me because I respect this guy. He’s one of the better ones. Those guys tend to know.”
However, coach Kyle Shanahan said he faced a degree of ridicule from those he knows well.
"Most of my friends made fun of me," he said. "They were trying to make me feel insecure about it, but we don’t.”
The reason, Shanahan said, is because Gould proved to them the importance of having a reliable kicker on the team. It was a luxury many teams around the NFL did not enjoy.
"I’m very glad that we got (Moody) but its not quite as fun as some other things can be," Shanahan said, "But I think it would be if we had a bad kicker for the past six years. I think everyone would have been like, ‘All right, we finally invested in and got one.'
"But when you have one that’s been like Robbie and so consistent, it is a little anticlimactic. But it was something that was extremely important.”
Before the 49ers selected a kicker, they made a much-more popular pick with the selection of Brown. He likely is to be groomed to take over as a full-time starter for the 2024 season. Veteran Tashaun Gipson and All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga appear to be set as the 49ers’ starting safeties this season.
The 49ers worked a deal with the Minnesota Vikings to send picks in the third round (No. 102), fifth round (No. 164) and seventh round (No. 222) to move up to select Brown.
“Steve Wilks said, ‘That’s my dude right there,’” Lynch said of the 49ers’ new defensive coordinator.
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Brown intercepted 10 passes over his final two seasons at Penn State. He also added 4.5 sacks in his final college season.
“He’s a baller,” Lynch said of Brown. “I think he’s got the components of what makes up a Niner. He had the consensus of coaches to scouts and everyone around the building.
“He really solidified that with his tape, then he came in on a visit and he’s got an infectious personality. Everybody in the building wanted that guy.”