Trade deadline has come and gone, and we’re picking up the pieces …
• The 49ers have become a model franchise in a lot of ways, and one is how they’ve been able to develop young coaches and executives. And there’s been a benefit on the other end of it (one that other teams, most prominently Carolina, have started to pursue) that pays off at times like this.
Thanks to Robert Saleh, Martin Mayhew, Mike McDaniel, DeMeco Ryans and Ran Carthon getting head coaching and general manager jobs—and through the NFL’s system for rewarding teams who develop diverse candidates into those positions—San Francisco has amassed a raft of compensatory third-round picks. Thus far, they’ve used those picks on cornerback Ambry Thomas, receiver Danny Gray, kicker Jake Moody, tight end Cameron Latu and in trades up for Trey Lance in 2021 and J’Ayir Brown in ‘23.
