That time again to look back at the last few drafts the 49ers have had. Fred Warner was the highlight here.
It’s time again to reflect on the San Francisco 49ers’ previous drafts. Thanks to YouTube poster and 49ers fan Marvin49, we have videos of each draft. We’ll look at every year during the Kyle Shanahan era up to 2024. Today, it’s 2018.
2018 had more optimism for the San Francisco 49ers than the last couple of seasons. They came off a nice five-game winning streak to finish the season, compliments of one Jimmy Garoppolo, who entered the starting lineup. The 49ers became dubbed “media darlings” overnight, and all eyes were on if they could continue the momentum from 2018.
So, was the draft for that season just as spectacular? Well, they got Fred Warner out of it. He’s the only person still on the team.
We begin with the 49ers holding the ninth pick overall and using it on Mike McGlinchey, an offensive tackle out of Notre Dame.
McGlinchey’s run blocking made him climb charts as one of the better tackles in the league, but his pass blocking, while not horrible, paled compared to Trent Brown, the man McGlinchey replaced. After the McGlinchey selection, the 49ers traded Brown to the New England Patriots the following day. There was some speculation McGlinchey may be the heir apparent to Joe Staley when the latter retired, but that was proven not to be the case as the 49ers traded for Trent Williams to fill that role.
McGlinchey’s time with the 49ers may have been a bit underrated. Since leaving in 2023, the right tackle position hasn’t been the same.
There’s no underrating this next pick: Dante Pettis. That pick didn’t work out. Especially when you factor in what the 49ers traded up to get him: a second-round pick (No. 59) and a third-round pick (No. 74) went to the Washington Commanders for their second (No. 44) and fifth-rounder (No. 142).
Pettis had flashes. He could have been the guy to return punts, but every time you saw something indicating he might ‘get’ there, something followed to remind you he needed more development. Pettis was waived by the 49ers in 2020 and bounced around the league, doing a lot of the same that he did with San Francisco—some moments, but nothing consistent.
If anything, the highlight of the draft and the one thing to point to if anyone says this was a total bomb is the third pick: Fred Warner, a linebacker out of BYU. If you had watched his tape in the analysis (video link below), you would have already seen how good he looked and how much of a fit for the 49ers he was without even putting on a jersey.
As a rookie, Warner got the green dot and spent 2018 learning how to communicate Robert Saleh’s calls. Warner is now considered one of the best, if not the best, linebackers in the league, both from a durability and talent standpoint.
If you want any proof, he played on a fractured ankle for most of 2024.
It goes “meh” from here. Safety Tarvarius Moore was drafted with intentions to convert to cornerback, but it didn’t quite pan out the way anyone wanted it to. Moore’s time with the 49ers ended after an Achilles tendon rupture in the summer of 2021. He’s currently a free agent.
Next was defensive end Kentavius Street from North Carolina State. Many may wonder if Trent Baalke returned to the building momentarily because Street was drafted despite suffering an ACL tear on his pro day. Once healed (in a year, he redshirted in 2018), Street provided good depth, but further injuries kept him off the field for a few points in his limited time with the team. He has gone through three different teams since leaving the 49ers.
In the fifth round, the 49ers took D.J. Reed. Reed only got two seasons with the 49ers before being waived. The 49ers were trying to get cute with the practice squad, thinking they could stash him for 2020, but the Seattle Seahawks swooped in to pick him up. Reed finished the final two years of his rookie deal with the Seahawks, winning a starting role towards the end of 2020. Once becoming a free agent in 2022, Reed reunited with Robert Saleh and the New York Jets on a three-year $33 million contract.
And the rest? Jullian Taylor had a strong training camp, but that was about it. Safety Marcell Harris? Beyond showing how hard he hits ball carriers, there’s not much to say about his career. Taylor’s last season was 2022 with the Minnesota Vikings, and Harris’s was with the Houston Texans in 2023. Both did not have any contracts during the 2024 season.
The 49ers exhausted their draft picks for the year with Richie James in the seventh round. While James would never have been a No. 1 wide receiver, he was a decent kick and punt returner…when healthy. That little knock was in the back of your mind, with James getting injured more often than not. The 49ers waived him in 2021. James last played with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023 and did not sign with anyone in 2024.
So 2018? The Fred Warner draft.
As always, the DMCA biscuits are watching this closely, so watch the entire draft reaction here.
Pick Breakdown
Round 1 – Pick 9 – Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
Round 2 – Pick 44 – Dante Pettis, WR, Washington
Round 3 – Pick 70 – Fred Warner, LB, BYU
Round 3 – Pick 95 – Tarvarius Moore, S, Southern Miss
Round 4 – Pick 128 – Kentavius Street, DT, North Carolina State
Round 5 – Pick 142 – D.J. Reed, CB, Kansas State
Round 6 – Pick 184 – Marcell Harris, S, Florida
Round 7 – Pick 233 – Jullian Taylor, DT, Temple
Round 7 – Pick 240- Richie James, WR, Middle Tennessee