New 49ers GM Lynch aces 1st draft test

He was raring to go.

At 5:49 a.m. on Day 1 of his first draft as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, John Lynch tweeted about how he'd been up since 3:30 a.m. in anticipation of the event.

When the draft finally commenced at 8 p.m. ET, Lynch was still awake and alert, ready to affect his new team's immediate and long-term future. And affect it he did.

The first-time GM, former NFL safety, and former analyst plucked right out of a broadcast booth exited the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft with two of the top talents available: defensive end Solomon Thomas and linebacker Reuben Foster. The prospects rank among the first seven players in theScore's Top 50 big board. Lynch got them with the No. 3 and 31 overall picks.

Related: 2017 NFL Draft - Top 50 big board and final position rankings

That's not all. In acquiring the No. 3 pick from the Chicago Bears for their No. 2 pick, the Niners also somehow convinced the Bears to give up three mid-round draft picks - two in 2017, one in 2018. Chicago needed but to wait for San Francisco to make their first-round pick in order to get the player they coveted at No. 3 overall, but Lynch and his brass appear to have convinced the Bears that if they wanted quarterback Mitchell Trubisky bad enough, they had to get past the 49ers to get him.

Fans and media aren't privy to how these draft calls go down, but we imagine the conversation between rival NFC GMs went something like this:

Bears GM Ryan Pace: Hey, John. How's it going?

Lynch: Good, Ryan. What's up?

Pace: So, uh, who you guys taking at two?

Lynch: I dunno, man. Could be anyone, really ...

Pace: OK, OK, but we need you-know-who. Just give me a heads up you won't be taking him and we're all good.

Lynch: You know, Ryan, I really can't promise you that. You know we have a need there, too.

Pace: Dammit, John! ... OK, tell you what. How 'bout we trade draft picks? Your two for my three? I'll throw in a ... third-round pick.

Lynch: And?

Pace: And a fourth-round pick.

Lynch: And?

Pace: What! ... Alright, alright (sigh). Two for three, a third, a fourth ... AND a third next year.

Lynch: Done.

Pace: (hangs up)

Lynch spent much of the pre-draft process heaping praise on any draft prospect even remotely linked to the No. 2 pick. Did he sell the possibility of the Niners drafting Trubisky so well that even the team picking right after him thought they had to leapfrog him?

We now know the impetus for Pace's daring draft deal was the volume of calls he was getting from teams looking to trade up in order to take a quarterback. It led him to believe Lynch was receiving the same calls and could have dealt the pick away to another team coveting Trubisky.

Regardless, Lynch and the 49ers ended up the clear winners.

San Francisco entered the 2017 league year with arguably the most barren roster in the NFL. With holes all over the field, the Niners were in the position to draft the best player available every time it was their turn at the podium. They could have gone quarterback, safety, D-lineman, linebacker, corner, or running back at No. 2 overall, and no one would have questioned the selection.

Instead, Lynch and his team opted to add the most talented defenders they could get and remain in position to address deeper positions later in the draft.

Rather than reach for a quarterback in a down year, the Niners - who surely will have another top pick in next year's draft - can target a 2018 class that could feature Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Mason Rudolph, and Josh Allen. They could also address the position by taking a player like DeShone Kizer later in this year's draft.

In lieu of selecting fellow Stanford alumnus Christian McCaffrey, Lynch improved the Niners' defense and could take one of the top running backs still available when he next picks with the second selection in the third round.

These are shrewd moves one would expect from someone with much more experience, not a novice NFL executive.