Monday buzz

April 26, 2021

More signs point to Jones to 49ers; other buzz notes … There were also media reports earlier in the day that San Francisco’s choice for the 3rd pick overall at this week’s draft was ‘down’ to QBs Mac Jones of Alabama and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. However, San Francisco G.M. John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan held their pre-draft presser on Monday and did nothing to dispel the notion that the 49ers will be selecting Jones with the pick, although Lynch noted that the 49ers still haven’t made a final decision. What Lynch did say was that when it came to making a final decision on the team’s QB of the future that he would ‘always defer’ to the coach. And deferring to Shanahan could signal that the 49ers are indeed leaning toward Jones, as he is the one believed to strongly favor the former Tide QB. At the same time, more than one observer of the presser described the proceedings as ‘defensive’ as Lynch and Shanahan tried to defend the process in which they had traded up to get a player that wasn’t going to be very popular with the 49ers’ fan base. Again, that’s more likely to be Jones who generally isn’t as highly rated as either Lance or Ohio State’s Justin Fields, the other top-rated passers expected to be still on the board when the 49ers get on the clock. At the same time, Shanahan couldn’t guarantee that incumbent starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo would be on the roster on Sunday fueling speculation that the 49ers could move him sometime during or immediately after the draft. Read more