San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters after Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. The team traded down twice, exiting the first round, and will now make its first selection with the first pick of Round 2. Here is everything they said.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
You guys obviously moved down twice. Was that kind of the plan coming in or kind of the way the board kind of fell for you guys?
President of Football Operations and General Manager John Lynch: Yeah, I think it's the way the board fell. There were a couple, a few players, that we would've taken had they been there. That didn't happen. We had done our due diligence probably about this time last week. We started making calls, 'Hey, if we were to get back.' And I think the reason why, I think this was a draft where a lot of people were trying to move back, so you wanted to get ahead. We had a couple deals secured. The second deal was from a team we didn't have secured, but we had made contact with. So, I think we were able to swap a fourth for a third in one deal. We were able to pick up some things to move back three spots. And I think the cool thing about the 33rd pick, it puts you in a really nice, we can kind of reconvene, reset our board, reset our thoughts, and I think it's also a coveted pick as a lot of teams are doing that themselves. So, that's where we're at."
Are you guys still open for business as far as that 33rd pick? And if you keep it, how many positions or how many players, do you already know the guy you're going to take if you keep that 33rd pick?
JL: "We've got a good idea of some names. We're always open for business. You always, I think that'd be foolish not to listen. And so, we will do that, but we have a good idea of where we're going and looking forward to that."
I just wonder what it's like, you've had other nights when you haven't had a firstround pick, but you just didn't have a pick. What's it like for you studying the board, seeing the scouts work, seeing John work and trading out of the first round? As you're watching, what is that like?
KS: "It wasn't bad because that was one of the things that we were kind of hoping would happen. When you look at the guys that we really thought had a chance to be there at 27 and guys we wouldn't move for, I think what happened probably would've been if I was a betting man, probably the second thing I would've thought could have happened. Like we had the guys we really wanted, and we knew there was a good chance, but when they weren't there, we moved back to 30 and the guys that we would've had to take at 30 are still there. So, I look at it as a huge success to move back to 33 when you would've still taken those guys at 30. Now 27, we were hoping for a couple things and we missed those, but we kind of had an idea we might. And to be able to move back two spots or two different times and get all those picks and still take who you would've taken of those spots who weren't your first choice right away. But, we knew that would be a challenge and we were hoping that we could do that if those guys fell."
Before you made your first trade, ESPN NFL Senior Insider Adam Schefter announced to everyone that you were looking to trade back. Were you looking for assistance to let everyone know that you were ready to trade back? JL:
"No, I think we had already done that ourselves."
KS: "We tell all 32 teams when we try to trade back (Laughter). You guys can repeat it. Appreciate it."
Was Cleveland Browns WR KC Concepcion a guy maybe you would've wanted?
JL: "We liked KC a lot. KC came out here for a visit. We met with him at the Combine. Tremendous young man. He has a great ability with the ball in his hands. Fun player to scout, fun player to watch, fun player to be around. I think Kyle and I, we tag team a lot of these visits when we're with the kids. Really just can't say enough about that young man. I think he's going to have a nice future ahead of him."
I know you didn't want to give the number of guys you had first-round grades on, but can you just give us an idea of maybe when those ran out tonight and how much maybe that played into the trades?
JL: "Yeah, sometimes they didn't run out until a couple picks before we picked. So, we say a couple that we realistically thought would get to where we were. Now, there were some guys earlier that we would've been thrilled to have, but we had a really good idea that they were going to be gone."
KS: "And then some guys go there that we didn't think would. There's a couple that, I'll make something up, let's say we had 22 of them, but there was a couple that went in those 22 that weren't those guys, which is why I feel really good about some of the choices
still at 33."
As far as the second trade goes, you pick up a fifth-round pick, you also lose the fifth-year option. Was that something you weighed? Is that fifth-year option valuable to you? How did you decide that one?
JL: "Yeah, you weigh it all. I think again, we've got a number of players that are there. We like the situation to be able to grab a fifth and it gives you flexibility to stay there and pick or move forward."
I know you're focused on your pick, but at 13, what is your reaction to the Los Angeles Rams taking a guy that isn't going to immediately impact them next year? JL:
"Well, first of all, I think another team in our division, they got a player who is going to have an impact, and I am talking about [Arizona Cardinals RB] Jeremiah Love, a fantastic player. [Los Angeles Rams QB] Ty Simpson is a good football player. I think there was a lot made as to where he would go and what teams would do. It probably surprised everybody, but one thing I've learned over the years is that with quarterbacks people will do those types of things, and they certainly did. So, we'll see."
Is QB Mac Jones going to be on this team going into camp?
KS: "Yeah, I mean, I'd be really surprised if he's not. It also really surprised me that no one came and offered something today. But, the fact that no one did doesn't make me think someone's going to do something tomorrow and his value has probably already passed anyways."
You mentioned having some interest in guys who went ahead of you. Were you both just kind of content with sitting at 27 and not really thinking of trading up, given only the six picks coming into the draft?
JL: "Yeah, I think with the six picks what it would take to get up, that wasn't something. We were comfortable with enough of the players that were there. There were a few that we said we were going to be patient and if they got there, we would turn the card in. Those guys went, and we stuck to our plan. Like I said, the first deal had been in place for some time provided our guys weren't there, and we executed it."
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