Bay Area reporters were treated to a unique pre-draft press conference on Monday. San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch invited media members into his dojo, the John McVay Draft Room.
Lynch fielded questions for nearly 30 minutes, all pertaining to the 2017 NFL Draft. Here are the most relevant updates from the GM.
1. Narrowing it Down
The 49ers have a number of options at their disposal for the No. 2 overall pick. According to Lynch, San Francisco's front office has narrowed its focus down to two or three players. That consensus was reached through healthy debate between scouts and members of the coaching staff.
"I would say that's fair," Lynch said. "Ultimately, it will be Kyle and I together making those decisions and that's kind of where we are this week."
2. Ready to Roll
San Francisco has just under 200 players on its final draft board. Lynch explained that his team finalized its plan over the weekend.
"I can tell you that just last night I finally got to the point, I always knew as a player like, 'OK. I'm ready,'" he said. "That moment was (Sunday) for me where I said, 'OK. I'm ready. I'm ready to go on this thing.' That's a good feeling."
3. Team Effort
Vice president of player personnel Adam Peters and senior personnel executive Martin Mayhew have each played integral roles in the 49ers draft process. They were hired to be Lynch's trusted sidekicks and individuals who bring invaluable experience to the table.
Lynch confirmed that his two most senior front office executives have been everything he expected they would be.
"They've been awesome," he said. "Those were great hires. I felt when we were able to secure them, and I can tell you as we sit here along with Kyle (Shanahan) throughout these meetings, they've both been invaluable to me and they will continue to be. That won't stop at this draft. I brought them in here for a reason. … I wouldn't have wanted to go through this without them. So, I'm very thankful to them and they'll play a big role in this thing as well."
4. What's the Tiebreaker?
The partnership between Lynch and Kyle Shanahan has been much discussed. There is no 1-a and 1-b as it is a true 50/50 split in power and responsibility. So what happens when the 49ers go on the clock and Lynch wants Player X and Shanahan wants Player Y?
"It's a good question," Lynch started. "It's one that we forced ourselves to talk about and discuss. I'm not trying to cop out, but it's going to be collective. Kyle and I made a commitment early on that we're going to come into this thing, and we figured out our own way to have our tiebreaker. It's not something that we've just kind of put aside and come Thursday night like, 'What do you want to do?' 'I don't know. What do you want to do?' We've got a plan. I can tell you that."
From Marshall Faulk to Carson Wentz, view images of every player selected with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft from 1990-2016.
5. Jimmie Ward's Option
The 49ers have yet to pick up Ward's fifth-year option, but that doesn't mean that they won't. Lynch and Co. have prioritized free agency and their pre-draft preparations to this point.
"That doesn't speak to any confidence or lack thereof that we have," Lynch said. "Just to be perfectly honest, we obviously have to conduct business, but we've been pretty focused in here and free agency and we'll get to a lot of that stuff. I've been saying that on a lot of things. 'I'll get to that after the draft.'"
Lynch also reiterated that the team is going to give Ward a shot at both safety and cornerback. The plan will be to see where he fits best and go from there.