The San Francisco 49ers have been very much under the radar during free agency, which makes the 2016 NFL Draft that much more important. The 49ers hold 12 picks in the upcoming draft, including four compensatory picks. The bulk of their picks are on day three. They break down as follows:
1. First round: Own pick - No. 7
2. Second round: Own pick - No. 6 (37 overall)
3. Third round: Own pick - No. 5 (68)
4. Fourth round: Own pick - No. 7 (105)
5. Fourth round: Comp pick - No. 35 (133)
6. Fifth round: San Diego Chargers (2015 draft-day trade) - No. 3 (142)
7. Fifth round: Own pick - No. 6 (145)
8. Fifth round: Comp pick - No. 37 (174)
9. Sixth round: Dallas Cowboys (2015 draft-day trade) - No. 3 (178)
10. Sixth round: Denver Broncos (Vernon Davis trade) - No. 32 (207)
11. Sixth round: Comp pick - No. 36 (211)
12. Sixth round: Comp pick - No. 38 (213)
ESPN's Bill Barnwell put together an interesting ranking of how teams have acquired and lost draft capital over the last year. He removed all comp picks and draft trades to put teams back to their original seven picks. He then adds back in the picks acquired and subtracts the picks lost, and calculates value using Chase Stuart's Draft Value Chart.
Using that value chart, Barnwell has the 49ers gaining the third most draft capital, behind only the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers. That's great and all, but the problem is getting value for those picks. Trent Baalke has done some solid work with later round picks, getting starters like Bruce Miller, Daniel Kilgore, Quinton Dial, Aaron Lynch, Kenneth Acker, Dontae Johnson, and what appears to be a starter in Trenton Brown.
However, he has had problems executing in the early portion of the draft. Arik Armstead showed some signs, and Jaquiski Tartt got a significant opportunity after Antoine Bethea got hurt. Jimmie Ward looked strong as a slot corner, and Eric Reid is entrenched as a starter. Those are some checks in the positive column. However, he has struggled to consistently hit on his second and third round picks to any degree. This draft is incredibly important to what is effectively a rebuilding project in Santa Clara. It's entirely unlikely the team will hit on every one of their draft picks, but they're gonna need to hit on a lot this year.