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Why John Lynch Needs to Overrule Kyle Shanahan About the No. 3 Pick

Lynch doesn't have to let Shanahan make the most unpopular move in franchise history.
Why John Lynch Needs to Overrule Kyle Shanahan About the No. 3 Pick
Why John Lynch Needs to Overrule Kyle Shanahan About the No. 3 Pick

Only one person can stop Kyle Shanahan from making the biggest mistake of his career: John Lynch. The general manager of the 49ers. Shanahan's boss, technically.

Shanahan reportedly wants to use the No. 3 pick on quarterback Mac Jones, who most experts consider the a late-first-round talent with minimal potential. While Lynch, assistant GM Adam Peters, the scouting staff and the personnel department reportedly want quarterback Trey Lance, who most experts consider a top-five talent with phenomenal potential.

Lynch doesn't have to let Shanahan make the most unpopular move in franchise history. Lynch can overrule Shanahan. Because Lynch has the final say in the draft -- he said so on Monday. He also said he defers to Shanahan on quarterback matters, but Lynch doesn't have to defer.

And he shouldn't in this case. His job is to protect the 49ers, not Shanahan's ego. Lynch should listen to his scouts.

Remember, Lynch deferred to Shanahan in 2017 when Shanahan didn't want to draft Patrick Mahomes, even though Lynch went to Mahomes' Pro Day and liked him very much. 

Then Lynch deferred to Shanahan again in the fourth round of the 2017 draft when Shanahan wanted to trade up for running back Joe Williams, whom Lynch and the 49ers scouts had taken off their draft board because he retired from football briefly in college and didn't seem to love the sport. Shanahan wanted him anyway. Lynch gave in, Shanahan got Williams, and Williams never played a down in the NFL.

Shanahan's track record picking personnel is terrible.

Overrule him, John.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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