The 49ers fell so hard for Reuben Foster that they celebrated wildly when they stopped his fall in the draft.
In April, their draft room exploded after they made the Alabama linebacker the penultimate pick in the first round. Why?
Moments after selecting the Butkus Award winner, general manager John Lynch told reporters the No. 31 pick was ranked No. 3 on the team’s draft board and it was “very likely” they would have selected him 28 spots earlier if their first selection, Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, wasn’t available.
“We got two of our top three players,” Lynch said.