The 49ers still have Aiyuk and Samuel and are looking for day three bargains

SANTA CLARA — Now comes the hard part for 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan of adding a handful of rookies on the third day of the NFL draft who might actually have a chance to make the cut of the team.

Some of them will, some of them won’t. Or will at least spend time on the practice squad, which Shanahan takes seriously as if they were actually on the 53-man roster.

So far, the 49ers have added three players to the roster: Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr., Florida State corner Renardo Green and Kansas guard Dominick Puni. Barring injury, they will be part of the team. Everything else is up for grabs.

Green and Puni were picked on Friday, and all we know for sure is that Green considers himself a “dog” in terms of desire and Puni, while listed as a tackle by the NFL Network, is a player of interior line versatile enough to play anywhere on the line.

A potential corner to bring Deommodore Lenoir back on the outside and a lineman who won’t solve the futuristic problem of Trent Williams retiring but could still be useful. Such is life when you own one of the best teams in the NFL.

As the Rolling Sto6nes sang in 1969, you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you can get what you need. In any case, that’s what the 49ers are hoping for.

After making a few minor trades, the 49ers still have two picks in Round 4 (Nos. 124 and 135), two in Round 5 (173 and 176), one in Round 6 (215) and one in Round 7 (251). .

Wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are still on the roster, and we’ll never know for sure how close either was to being traded.

“We’re happy with our wide receiver group,” Lynch said. “Actually, more than happy.” We’re excited about it and excited to have added Ricky to this group and make it stronger.

Either way, for a team in go-getter mode, it makes sense to keep the two with Brock Purdy in the final year of his rookie deal before his revenue explodes by just under a million to more than 40 million dollars in 2025.

While there should be no major moves, it all depends on which players might be able to spring a pleasant surprise on Day 3.

During the 49ers’ pre-draft press conference, Lynch suggested the pickings would be slim. By his calculations, the 49ers expected 83 players to enter the draft, but they didn’t due to a changing college football landscape that includes NIL (name, image, likeness) money. as well as a transfer portal to finish at another school. .

Lynch changed his tone a bit Friday night in the name of optimism.

“There are still good players,” Lynch said. “It’s our job to go find them. I think it’s probably not the usual amount, it’s probably low on gas. But our challenge is to find the guys who have the opportunity to make our team better. And you know, there’s a certain element to just throwing more darts and seeing who sticks.

For proof, look no further than Brock Purdy in 2022, one of the most successful players in NFL history and the man who erased Trey Smith’s mistake the year before at 3rd overall. General classification.

Rounds 4-7 begin at 9 a.m. Saturday. Here’s a look at who came off the board while the 49ers waited for Pearsall and some potential Day 3 targets on Friday:

Edge Rushers

2/56 Marshawn Kneeland, West Michigan, Dallas

2/57 Chris Braswell, Alabama, Tampa Bay

3/74 Bralen Trice, Washington, Atlanta

3/76 Jonah Ellis, Utah, Denver

3/93 Adria Isaac, Penn State, Baltimore

3/94 Jalyx Hunt, Houston Christian, Philadelphia

3/95 DeWayne Carter, Duke, Buffalo

Five potential targets on day 3

Cedric Johnson, Mississippi

Brennan Jackson, Washington State

Nelson Caesar III, Houston

Gabriel Murphy, UCLA

Xavier Thomas, Clemson

Defensive tackle

2/35 Ruke Orhorhoro, Clemson, Atlanta

2/36 Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois, Washington

2/38 T’Vondre Sweat, Texas, Tennessee

2/39 Braden Fiske, Florida State, LA Rams

2/48 Maason Smith, LSU, Jacksonville

2/49 Kris Jenkins, Michigan, Cincinnati

2/54 Michael Hall Jr., Ohio State, Cleveland

3/97 McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M, Cincinnati

Five potential targets on day 3

Brandon Dorius, Oregon

Mekhi Wingo, LSU

Gabe Hall, Baylor

Justin Egoigbe, Alabama

Khristian Boyd, Northern Iowa

Offensive tackle

2/55 Patrick Paul, Houston, Miami

2/59 Blake Fisher, Notre Dame, Houston

2/62 Roger Rosengarten, Washington, Baltimore

2/63 Kingsley Suamataia, Brigham Young, Kansas City

3/68 Caeden Wallace, Penn State, New England

3/75 Kiran Amegadie, Yale, Chicago

3/79 Matt Gonçalves, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis

Five potential targets on day 3

Christian Jones, Texas

Javon Foster, Missouri

Nathan Thomas, Louisiana

Walter Rouse, Oklahoma

Ethan Driscoll, Marshall

Cornerback

2/40 Cooper DeJean, Iowa, Philadelphia

2/41 Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama, New Orleans

2/42 Kamari Lassiter, Georgia, Houston

2/43 Max Melton, Rutgers, Arizona

2/50 Mike Sainristil, Michigan, Washington

2/61 Ennis Rakestraw, Missouri, Detroit

2/64 Renardo Green, Florida State, 49ers

3/70 Andru Phillips, Kentucky, New York Giants

3/90 Elijah Jones, Boston College, Arizona

3/96 Jarrian Jones, Florida State, Jacksonville

Five potential targets on day 3

DJ James, Auburn

Caelen Carson, Wake Forest

Jarvis Brownlee, Louisville

TJ Tampa, Iowa State

Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri