Sports

The San Francisco 49ers' 5 Worst Draft Picks in the Last 10 Years

By HC Green Lindys Sports

Updated July 15, 2026 6:17 AM

Drafting is an inexact science. Even the best of the best miss for any number of reasons-injuries, poor scheme fit, off-the-field issues, lack of development, and so on. With the 2026 NFL Draft now in the rearview mirror, things should be quiet on the personnel side until training camps open in July.

With that in mind, it seems like the perfect time to go back over the last 10 drafts to identify picks which didn't pan out for each of the 32 clubs. Before we begin, let's set the ground rules: We're starting with the 2016 draft, so no players from the 2026 draft are eligible.

Now that we've established the parameters, here are the San Francisco 49ers' five worst draft picks of the past decade:

Dishonorable Mentions

CB Will Redmond (68th Overall, 2016)
WR Dante Pettis (44th Overall, 2018)
RB Trey Sermon (88th Overall, 2021)
LB Drake Jackson (61st Overall, 2022)
WR Danny Gray (105th Overall, 2022)
PK Jake Moody (99th Overall, 2023)

5) RB Tyrion Davis-Price, 93rd Overall (2022)

Davis-Price narrowly edges out Sermon for the last spot as part of a miserable 2022 draft. The 49ers gave the rookie 14 carries in Week 2 in his first year. He'd log just 29 rushing attempts over the remainder of his career-the 49ers cut him in December 2023. Among the many backs drafted after him were Kyren Williams, Brian Robinson Jr., and Isiah Pacheco.

4) WR Jalen Hurd, 67th Overall (2019)

Injuries defined Hurd's career. He missed his rookie year due to a back injury. A torn ACL ended his sophomore campaign in camp. Another knee injury sidelined him in 2021, ending his time in San Francisco (and the NFL) without ever playing a snap.

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3) LB Reuben Foster, 31st Overall (2017)

After making 10 starts in an injury-shortened debut, Foster's career went downhill in a hurry. He received a two-game suspension for off-the-field issues and was then arrested a second time for domestic violence in November 2018, leading to his release. He'd end up in Washington but never played after tearing his ACL and LCL during his first practice with the club.

2) OL Joshua Garnett, 28th Overall (2016)

Garnett's best season with the Niners was his first one, when he made 11 starts. After that, the injury bug bit hard and often. He missed all of 2017 following knee surgery, and in 2018 he lost a competition for a starting job to Mike Person-he also missed considerable time that year with toe and thumb injuries. Garnett was released in 2019 and would retire without ever starting another game after his rookie year.

1) QB Trey Lance, 3rd Overall (2021)

Originally set to draft 12th in 2021, the 49ers packaged their original selection with a third-round pick and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 to move up nine spots. They selected Lance, who was set to sit and develop behind Jimmy Garoppolo. San Francisco implemented that plan in 2022 when they named Lance the starter. He'd last two games before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Into that void came Brock Purdy, and in 2023 the 49ers decided to move on from Lance, trading him to Dallas for a fourth-round pick, thus cementing this as one of the worst misses any team has had in the last decade.

This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 6:00 AM.