If the 49ers truly still don’t know who they will draft at No. 3 overall Thursday night -- whether they will take Mac Jones or Trey Lance -- the decision will fall to coach Kyle Shanahan.
“A lot of people are always curious, and it’s something Kyle and I set out to do and I think it’s why this thing, for us, has worked so well is that everyone has in your contract: You do this. The draft is mine,” General Manager John Lynch said Monday. “But I told Kyle from the beginning that he and I are doing this together, and when it comes to quarterbacks, I’d be foolish, I believe, [to make the pick]. We have a head coach who’s also our offensive play caller. I will always defer to him. You know what’s cool about that is that Kyle I think respects my opinion enough. He always wants it. Ultimately, we arrive at decisions. We will and come Thursday we’ll have a pick that hopefully makes everyone proud, but that will judged in years to come. We’ve done our best to make sure it’s a great decision for this franchise.”
So who does Shanahan like?
He’s not saying.
“I feel good about five guys at three,” Shanahan said.
So everyone outside the team’s decision makers will discover the 49ers’ choice on Thursday night after the Jaguars select Trevor Lawrence and the Jets take Zach Wilson.