Golden Nuggets: ESPN believes the 49ers will regret passing on Mac Jones

Your daily San Francisco 49ers links for Sunday, July 4, 2021

After ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the 49ers were fined, fans and even some media members begged the question of whether Kyle Shanahan lied. There were even articles debating the topic.

On Saturday, Schefter corrected himself saying the 49ers didn’t have OTA’s taken away and that it was voluntarily canceled. Put those pitchforks away, fellas.,

ESPN reporter believes Patriots will be ‘sending a big thank-you note’ to 49ers for passing on Mac Jones

“I believe the Patriots will be sending a big thank-you note to the San Francisco 49ers for passing on Jones with the No. 3 overall draft pick,” Reiss wrote. “He slid all the way to New England at No. 15 and has made a strong first impression on coaches and players.”

“He has a swag to him that I didn’t know that he had at first,” receiver Kendrick Bourne said. “He’s out there confident, and that is what you need in a quarterback. Good energy, awesome guy, comes to work and you just can feel his energy and leadership already.”

6 49ers who need a bounce-back year in 2021

Tartt played in only eight games last year and re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year deal this offseason. He wasn’t a lock to start, but Tarvarius Moore’s torn Achilles pushes Tartt up the depth chart and likely into a starting role. He was very good in 2019, and regaining that form while staying available for the whole season would buoy a relatively thin 49ers secondary.

PFF got it wrong listing Solomon Thomas worst 49ers draft pick

A.J. Jenkins, not Solomon Thomas, was 49ers’ worst NFL Draft pick since 2006

It’s possible PFF’s Michael Renner, who wrote the article, wasn’t quite in tune with some of the earlier gaffes San Francisco made during the NFL Draft during the 2000s. Defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer, selected No. 29 overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, flamed out after three seasons. He should have received some consideration.

But the clear-cut “winner” of that designation PFF dished out should have been none other than Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins.

Not Thomas.

Jenkins, selected at No. 30 in the 2021 NFL Draft, should have never been a first-round selection. Maybe a third-round experimental pick at best, but nothing more.

Instead, then-general manager Trent Baalke kicked off the 2012 49ers draft class with Jenkins, and that entire class has to go down as one of the worst in recent Niners history.

5 bold predictions for 49ers, rest of NFC West in 2021

No. 4: Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wins 2021 MVP award

San Francisco fans probably won’t like to think about this, but even they can acknowledge the Seattle Seahawks would be a .500 team if it weren’t for quarterback Russell Wilson being the player he is.

Wilson was snubbed last year in favor of the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, despite the former passing for a career-high 40 touchdowns a year ago and being the mark of consistency ever since 2021. And it seems to be a regular yearly occurrence Wilson gets short-changed on MVP votes anyway.

The Position Where the 49ers Must Add Depth After Training Camp Cuts

San Francisco should take advantage of its elite assistant coach, and get him more bodies to mold into this year’s Kerry Hyder Jr. (now with Seattle).

The 49ers could do this by first re-signing Dion Jordan, who had three sacks and five QB hits in 2020. Then they could look around the league at teams who selected a top prospect in the draft and might be looking to move on from their veterans, like Tampa Bay’s William Gholston (Joe Tryon) and/or Buffalo’s Mario Addison (Gregory Rousseau).