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After trading out of the first round and supposedly reaching for multiple picks in this year’s draft, the 49ers, GM John Lynch, and coach Kyle Shanahan have drawn widespread scrutiny for their selections.

Which seems silly.

It’s possible Lynch and Shanahan whiffed on most of their picks, took second-round wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling way too early, and wasted another third-round selection on running back Kaelon Black, who might not be a serviceable backup to Christian McCaffrey.

But blasting the 49ers before these players suit up for their first practice is a futile exercise.

When is it fair to grade a draft class? When is it appropriate to determine whether the 49ers have set themselves back? 

The sweet spot seems to be two to three years after drafted players enter the NFL. By that point, the general public has a strong sense of which players were picked too early, which were chosen too late, and how they fit with their respective teams.

It’s why we’ve known the 2022 draft class — except for pick No. 262 — was dreadful, and it’s why we now can say with certainty that the 49ers’ 2023 class was awful. This was obvious last year and fairly apparent by 2024, as only two of the nine players selected in 2023 remain with the organization. 

The two most glaring mistakes that year were the reach for kicker Jake Moody with pick No. 99 and the selection of tight end Cameron Latu with No. 101. Perhaps the worst part of that draft was that the 49ers didn’t have a first-round selection after trading the pick away in the ill-fated deal that allowed Lynch and Shanahan to move up and select Trey Lance at No. 3 in 2021.

The 2024 class, while still lacking a Pro Bowler, is better. The 49ers probably should have taken Ladd McConkey over Ricky Pearsall at pick No. 31, but the other receivers picked in the 30s — Xavier Legette, Keon Coleman, and Ja’Lynn Polk — have all struggled. 

The 49ers landed starters in second-round corner Renardo Green and third-round guard Dominick Puni, and there’s hope Malik Mustapha can regain his 2024 form at safety after he struggled in his return from a knee injury. Tatum Bethune isn’t a starting-caliber linebacker, but he’s a solid depth option, which is more than most seventh-round picks become.

If the 2022 and 2023 classes were awful, the 2024 class is promising, and the 2025 class has hope too, what explains the social media outrage over the 2026 selections? It probably has more to do with the rise of the Seahawks and Rams than it does with Lynch and Shanahan’s idiosyncratic approach to drafting. 

As Seattle and Los Angeles amass more talented young players through the draft, the 49ers haven’t added an All-Pro since taking Nick Bosa No. 2 in 2019. Brock Purdy’s 2022 selection salvaged the Lance debacle and helped San Francisco find a face of the franchise at quarterback, but Purdy is the last drafted player to receive a long-term extension. 

It’s unfair to write off this year’s draftees already, but until the 49ers resume choosing players worth signing to major contracts, fan angst surrounding the team’s draft strategy will persist.