The Lesson the 49ers Should Learn From the Jake Moody Blunder

There is a lesson or two the 49ers should come away with after waiving kicker Jake Moody.

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers place kicker Jake Moody (4) prepares to kick a field goal against the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers finally did it.

They have cut ties with kicker Jake Moody. It was surprising to see that after Kyle Shanahan backed Moody by saying there's "no question" he's still their kicker.

This is the best pivot Shanahan will make all season, but it won't matter if he and the 49ers don't learn their lesson from the Moody experience.

The lesson the 49ers should learn after waiving Jake Moody

Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; DUPLICATE***San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kurtis Rourke (4)***San Francisco 49ers place kicker Jake Moody (4) makes a kick during the first half against Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Don't draft kickers in the third round. It doesn't matter how magnificent they were in college or how stacked your team is.

Spending a Day 2 pick on a special teams player is a complete and utter waste of resources. The 49ers essentially lit their draft pick on fire.

Drafting a running back, despite the failures the 49ers have had in that round with the position, would've been better. Literally anything else than a kicker would've been better.

But it speaks to the arrogance of the 49ers, specifically Shanahan, since he's mostly hands-on in the first few rounds. He really believed picking Moody was great because no other player would help them immediately.

That's so arrogant and lacks foresight. Shanahan is such a short-term thinker, which most head coaches are, but he does it at an extreme level. The draft is never for aiding a team immediately. It's mainly for the long-term.

Another lesson the 49ers should take from this is not continuing to double, triple, and quadruple down on a failed draft pick. The 49ers have more leeway for Moody than they ever did with Trey Lance.

A kicker, who was way worse at their job, got more time than a quarterback. It's just unreal, insane, delusional, but also hilarious at the same time.

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody (4) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

I mean, for crying out loud, Moody had to change his kicking mechanics and everything. That should've been the final sign that he was shot.

The only reason they didn't let Moody go earlier was to save face. Shanahan didn't want his image to be tarnished because he made the mistake of drafting a kicker extremely early.

He wanted Moody to bounce back this year so that he could use that as a point to stick to his critics. That's why he backed Moody in his postgame press conference against Seattle.

I bet special teams coach Brant Boyer and others got with Shanahan about it. Plus, if you're the players who are fighting hard to keep the game close, how do you justify keeping Moody?

Christian McCaffrey is out there being a workhorse again, and it means nothing because the kicker doesn't capitalize on chip-shot field goals.

Whoever the 49ers replace Moody with will instantly be better. It's good that the 49ers let him go, but it should've never gotten this far. Hopefully, they have learned their lesson from this blunder.

---