49ers blasted for being the 'worst' drafting team in NFL after another year of reaches originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The San Francisco 49ers are in a very competitive NL West, and they will likely be one of the top Super Bowl contenders once the season begins.However, in the eyes of many, including Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, it will be no thanks to their 2026 NFL Draft class.After the draft was over, Sharp blasted the 49ers and John Lynch, calling out the team for reaching for players for another year in a row, and continuing to be "the worst" drafting team over the last few years as well.49ers called 'worst' drafting team in NFL in recent years"I don't know what John Lynch is doing," Sharp writes.
"...The 49ers are the WORST in the NFL at drafting, and local reporters have noticed."The statistic that Warren used to support this claim was a simple one: Draft Capital Over Expectation (DCOE), which determines which classes are full of reaches and steals.San Francisco ranked #31 in 2023, $28 in 2024, #31 in 2025, and then in 2026, a ranking of #32 overall, last in the NFL.The 49ers have reached for a lot of players over the years, most notably with Jake Moody at pick No. 99, Cameron Latu at 101, Nick Martin at 75, and Jordan Watkins at 138 in recent years.More: 49ers searching for possible Brandon Aiyuk trade instead of a simple releaseThis year, Lynch reached twice near the top of the draft, taking De'Zhaun Stribling, a wide receiver out of Ole Miss, at No. 33 overall at the top of Round 2 when the consensus boards had him 99th. Kaelon Black was ranked 214th; the 49ers took him at pick No. 90."Lynch can claim he knows better than the wisdom of crowds," Sharp writes.
"The data shows he doesn't."The 49ers' draft this year wasn't highly graded, and Sharp wasn't afraid of laying into the franchise for another year of reaches. He called them the "worst" drafting team in recent history, and the statistics and eye test lend credence to such a bold claim.More 49ers news:Mac Jones trade demand from 49ers is ‘astronomical’ price49ers might be interested in Joel Bitonio after decade-plus with Browns49ers plan to limit Christian McCaffrey’s touches in 2026Nick Bosa named as 49ers’ most overpaid player with $170M dealoi49ers could be interested in Kayvon Thibodeaux