PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 11: General manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after his team's 23-19 win against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch met with the media ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, and it’s safe to say one of his comments is about to make some waves. He talked about Brandon Aiyuk, among other things, but it’s his comments about AI that are starting to pick up some traction.He was talking about getting draft analysis together and being prepared for this week.

At one point he used the phrase, “The cool thing is, what we found, you don’t need to be an expert.”Naturally, that’s what gets share and people joke about the 49ers plans for the draft. Even I poked fun at it, talking about how they end up drafting Cameron Boozer thanks to a hallucination.But after thinking it through, I’m pretty sure what Lynch was saying is that you don’t need to be an expert at AI. It’s not about anybody being able to be a draft expert, but rather an expert at using the product.There’s a lengthy conversation to be had about AI tools.

And there are some significant issues to flag when using AI. In this case, if the 49ers are using AI but not checking the work to make sure it’s accurate, then yes, it will lead to problems. AI can provide efficiencies, but there are enough problems to consider without even factoring in ethical concerns, that if you are not checking the work it is spitting out, you’re setting yourself up for failure.Of course, I suppose we can check back this weekend to see if the 49ers ended up making a pick that clearly seems like an unchecked AI suggestion.