The San Francisco 49ers ended up trading down so they didn’t play much of a part in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan was shocked to see that no one made an offer for Mac Jones, though he was happy to say he expects him to be back.
Per Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Shanahan was fully expecting on receiving calls for Mac Jones and was surprised that those didn’t happen. He then reported that Shanahan expects Jones to be back with the team for next season after no business was made.
Jones played a key role last season when Brock Purdy got injured. As the backup quarterback, Jones entered the mix and delivered. Jones started eight games and had a 5-3 record. He completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Shanahan should’ve tried to keep the 49ers first-rounder
San Francisco had the 27th pick but traded down to the 30th with the Dolphins, who also gave the 90th pick. Then, they traded that 30th pick with the Jets for pick no.33 and a fifth-rounder (179). Hence, no picks were made in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers
However, was this wise? The 49ers had two glaring holes to address. They need a wide receiver more, and they need offensive line help. By trading down, they allowed the Jets to take one of the wideouts on the board. Also, at this point, no top-tier linemen remains. It might have been a costly mistake.
49ers GM Lynch explained the reasoning behind the trades
John Lynch stated, “Now, I will tell you we don’t have a ton of picks in this draft, so it does make some sense to where, ‘How can we find some more picks?’ And we’ll certainly be open to that.” Now, having more picks doesn’t translate to having better players.
That’s the challenge now. The 49ers need to show more capital means a better roster. It’s usually in round 1 where you find those immediate gamechangers. This doesn’t mean that you can’t find them later, but it’s way, way tougher.
