How good a GM is John Lynch? This ranking has him pretty high
John Lynch has helped shepherd some of the most successful years in 49ers history.
John Lynch arrived in San Francisco in 2017 with no front office experience and a Hall of Fame playing career. Nine years later, the question of his standing as a general manager remains genuinely complicated. The achievements are real.
Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan built one of the NFC's most consistently competitive rosters, reaching four NFC championship games and two Super Bowls. Foundational pieces like Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle were legitimate draft wins, while the acquisitions of Christian McCaffrey and the Trent Williams reflected an ability to identify and secure premium NFL talent. It hasn't all been pleasant, though.
The 2021 trade up to select Trey Lance third overall cost the 49ers three first-round picks and Lance never developed into a starter. Meanwhile, recent first-round selections have been shaky, and Shanahan and Lynch's recent first-rounders have either been shaky or haven't existed thanks to the Lance trade. NBC Sports' Patrick Daugherty took all of this into consideration when he ranked all 32 general managers.
In some cases, he combined a team's head coach with their GM during the evaluation. For the 49ers, he lumped GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan and ranked the duo No. 8 in the NFL.