Rookies aren't supposed to step in on the first day and act like veterans. That's a pretty solid lesson from the draft. But the 49ers' first-year general manager John Lynch and his personnel staff flipped that notion on its head with an outstanding opening salvo to his tenure in San Francisco.
The 49ers opened the first day of draft with the No. 2 overall pick and a tough spot in a weird draft. They closed by adding a top-75 pick, a solid 2018 pick and two top-10 talents.
Lynch bamboozled the Bears into trading up one spot for Mitchell Trubisky (Chicago gave up No. 3, No. 67, No. 111 and a 2018 third-round pick to move up a single spot) and then utilized No. 111 to move back into the first round.
It was an incredible first day for the first-year GM, although he wasn't the only one did outstanding work.
Let's look at the winners and losers from the first day of the draft, remembering that these knee-jerk reactions are almost always right and nearly always 100 percent accurate.
If you have some picks you like or some picks you hate, leave them in the comments or hit me on Twitter @WillBrinson.
Winners
San Francisco 49ers
What a freaking day. The 49ers got, in my opinion, the best player in the draft in Solomon Thomas. Add him to Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner on the defensive line and you're cooking with some gas when it comes to pressuring the passer.
But they didn't just get Thomas; they also added three picks for moving down a single spot. Lynch then used one of those picks (the lower one this year) to move up three spots and back into the end of the first round to grab Reuben Foster, a guy they were thinking about drafting at No. 2 or No. 3. Foster has major red flags, but he is a supreme football talent.
So, two top-10 talents, an extra top-75 pick and a third-round pick in 2018. It wasn't some Keyser Soze diabolical approach, it was just smart work on a draft board.
The Buccaneers already had the feel of a team that could make a leap into the playoffs and contend for the NFC South just by adding DeSean Jackson. Start to think about what this offense is going to look like now that Tampa Bay added O.J. Howard.
Howard will help them block in the running game and is an explosive guy in the passing game as well. Between Mike Evans, Desean Jackson, Cameron Brate and Howard, Winston is going to have a plethora of weapons to utilize in the passing game. He's had one of the best offseasons of anyone in the NFL in terms of what he's been handed.
Patrick Mahomes
First of all, the young man went as a top-10 pick in a draft where people said that no one wanted anything to do with these quarterbacks. Second of all, Mahomes is a talented guy with a ton of upside, and he just landed in a spot where he will not have to play immediately (unless the Chiefs want him to). Third of all, he's the next guy to be groomed by Andy Reid, which is a thing that has worked out for a lot of quarterbacks over the last couple of decades.
We're lumping these three teams together because they had back-to-back-to-back picks in the teens and because they all just sat there and watched a ton of offensive players come off the board when they all very much needed defense and soaked in some serious talent.
The Cardinals landed Haason Reddick, an absolute freak of a linebacker who will impact them immediately. The Eagles got Derek Barnett, a very underrated pass rusher who is pro ready and has a massive motor. The Colts got a new Ed Reed-type safety for Chuck Pagano in the form of Malik Hooker. Throw the Redskins, who landed Jonathan Allen with the 17th pick, in there as well.
Sometimes being patient is a good thing.
Losers
Chicago Bears and Mike Glennon
The Bears were sitting at No. 3 spot and had their choice of defensive options: either get handed Thomas or Jamal Adams. Instead they coughed up a ton of picks to move up a single spot and grab Mitch Trubisky, which is a weird thing because they just paid Glennon a bunch of money in free agency.
Look, I'll be honest, I like both Mike Glennon and Mitchell Trubisky. I get the idea of doing what the Seahawks did a few years ago by investing at the quarterback position until you find the guy. That's how you have to do it. But it is very bizarre to know you have the third overall pick, to know that Myles Garrett is going to go No. 1 overall, to give Glennon a bunch of money and then to give away a bunch of picks to move up one spot to grab another quarterback.
If Trubisky is a franchise quarterback, the price is fine. But it feels very bizarre the way the Bears handled this.
He isn't losing his job today and might not even lose his job in 2017, but he is losing his job at some point. It's pretty clear that the trade up for Mahomes and the status of Smith's contract (he can be cut with no penalty between 2017 and 2018) means that his run in Kansas City is probably over after next year. Maybe that's motivation and maybe it could ultimately mean a nice run for the Chiefs this year. But there is a serious sense of urgency for Smith, even though he will handle it like a pro.
The Florida State running back sure looked like a guy who would come off the board in the first round. Many believe he's the best running back in the class. That didn't happen, as off-field issues and shoulder injuries caused him to drop out of the first round.
Now, he loses because he is no longer in the first round. But don't feel too bad for him. Cook now won't face the prospect of a fifth-year option, which means he will get to a new contract sooner.
And there are also some nice landing spots thanks to the trades and picks that happened in the first round. Green Bay and Seattle have the first two picks of the round, the Chargers hold an early pick, as do the Panthers, Bengals and Saints. On the other hand, he could end up sliding a little bit as the second day wears on.
Let's be clear here about Deshaun Watson ... I love the dude. I think that Trubisky will be the best of all the quarterbacks in this draft class, but doubt Watson at your own peril. He made some dumb throws last year at points, but he got on the biggest stage against a Nick Saban defense. He just stepped into a great situation.
Love Watson. Love the fit. But here's the thing about Houston: they no longer have a first- or second-round pick in 2018. You're telling me things can't go wrong for Houston with some injuries and some struggles and the Texans just can't finish 5-11 with a top-10 pick next year? That can happen. And if it does, they will be handing two top-40 picks to the Browns.
