(Photo: Associated Press)
Mostly focused on Joe Staley retiring in today’s draft. We’ll be using miles of bandwidth to talk about Trent Williams over the next few weeks.
Now, let’s move on to some of the additional players the 49ers welcomed today. Here are excerpts from this evening’s official John Lynch/Kyle Shanahan Zoom transcript. Because the draft is not over after the third round.
Shanahan on the back-up plan at offensive tackle:
“One thing that was really cool was that in the event the Washington deal didn’t go through, one of our basic plans was to try to draft Colton. [McKivitz] There in the fourth round, and then we took that risk to move it up and get the receiver we wanted. Then we ended up getting Trent and still managed to get him [McKivitz] In the fifth round it was a hell of a deal. We were so thrilled with what happened today.
Shanahan on whether the forecast assessment has changed due to the uncertain summer:
“No, it doesn’t change it. I mean, you bring it up and talk about it, but you can’t cash it all out in the first five weeks of the year. So, it’s just kind of unfortunate. What was different there, at least we could talk to starters and stuff. Once it’s drafted You can do things with these guys a little bit, but you can’t get them for OTAs and things like that and they were a little bit behind and it took a little longer 2011, it was really tough because you couldn’t work with anyone, but now we’re able to talk With everybody, and being able to do things. It’s going to be a challenge, but I think it will end up the same way.”
Lynch on trading for McKivitz:
The Dolphins contacted Matt Breda during the operation and it’s another guy, Breda Marquez [Goodwin] I have to talk about it too. These two people have been with us since the beginning. Buraydah, an undrafted free agent, has introduced to this organization in incredible fashion. He was really good to us and a really valuable member, both in his play and his make-up. We wish him well. However, we felt we had an opportunity to add to the offensive line in the long run. The cool thing about McKivitz, we feel he has some ability to play tackle but also has some ability to slide and play some guard. It’s a man, in the process, the more we watch — that happens with a lot of men — but the more you watch, the more you love. We just felt at that point, this was a good move for us.”
Shanahan on depth for the 49ers offensive line:
“We also think that if it doesn’t work out in the draft or with Trent, we think Sean Coleman, we think [Daniel] Brunskill, we think [Justin] Skool. We have two candidates, and Colton is another candidate. So, I added players who could be possibilities to get into the position as an NFL player, and he’s one of them. We’re excited about it. We also like that if we don’t need him there or wherever we need him better, we think he has the potential to play the other four positions as well. That’s what we loved about him.”
Shanahan on TE Charlie Woerner’s ability as a receiver:
“Yeah. We always see some potential. I don’t know how many third moves, double moves and things we’re going to design for him or sweeps planes like some Kettle gets and things like that. We brought him here to fill the role we always had somebody, be it [Garrett] Selleck, whether Levine [Toilolo], whether it was Logan Paulsen. We have lost some of these guys. We got [Daniel] Helm is on the list and has done a great job in the coaching squad this year. We’ve brought him up, I think the last three games of the year and then we’ve had three guys on the roster. It was important for us to achieve a new tight end. We see him competing with Helm there, trying to take on the Selleck role, the Levine role, the Logan Paulsen role, which is a very important role for us. She’s a major about blocking, that’s what she does best, but if that’s all you do block, we’ll get an O-Lineman to play your position instead. He should have some passing skills and we definitely see that and we’re really excited about him.”
Shanahan on WR Joan Jennings:
“Jennings was a guy who we knew was going to be there in the end. He didn’t have the best combined score. When you do that, you always guess sometimes, ‘Will he be anywhere from the fifth round to a free agent? When you watch that tape, you know that’s a lot. A lot of people in this league would love him. He was one of our most favorite players to watch. He’s a bulldog. He usually plays in the slot. I feel like he could probably play linebacker if he wanted. He’s willing to fight everyone out there. He fights for yards. He’s He plays plays and there’s a mentality to this guy that you don’t have to talk to him to hear about. You can watch him on silent tape and you know what kind of footballer he is. When you have guys like that, they usually end up being pretty special. Now, he has some reasons That’s why he’s going to have to come and prove himself to make this team because we have such a good group of receivers. With the way he plays, the attitude he plays there, the physicality, he’ll get a chance to make that team. I know he’s going to push those other men forcefully.”
Lynch on rehabilitating WR Jalen Hurd:
“He’s doing a really good job. One of the benefits is that the rehab players have been able to be around the facility. They’ve been given permission by the league. We’re taking great precautions with all of these things but Galen’s performance is really good. He’s cleared up. We’re ramping it up.” We’re very optimistic. I don’t want to get too optimistic because last year we saw some progress and then we had some setbacks. So, I’m going to let this thing continue to take its place. It’s out, it’s running. It’s doing really well and we’re excited about that. Galen 14 days that We saw him in it and it was off. The problem is we’ve only seen him for 14 days. Jalen knows very well he needs to work on his tail, so he can come back and contribute and try to earn opportunities to be a contributor to our team going forward. We love his skill set. We love his mentality. Now is the time To put it all to work.”