In a twist no one saw coming, the San Francisco 49ers traded back into the third round just in time to pick C.J. Beathard. Who you say? Beathard is a 6’2” 215-pound quarterback out of the University of Iowa. His grandfather Bobby was an NFL general manager, his father Casey writes country music, and his brother Tucker is a singer. So they’re a busy family.
In his career as a Hawkeye, Beathard has 21 wins and 40 touchdown passes. His 2015 season was better than 2016, but 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan attributes that to the personnel around him.
“Well, one thing that helps is being able to see guys play the way you’re going to ask them to play,” said Shanahan. “I think that helps with being at Iowa, having watched the system that he’s in. It’s easier to see. And, to watch him over the years, he’s a three-year starter. He’s led his team to a bunch of wins, especially in 2015 where they had a better team. I think he played unbelievable. They struggled a little bit more this year. I don’t think he had as good of players around him. But, he’s a leader, he’s tough, processes very well, extremely accurate and I think he lives and dies football.”
Beathard has been paying attention to Shanahan and his scheme, and he sees himself as a good fit.
“I come from a background, a football background, so I know a lot about coaches and things like that,” said Beathard. “And I have a lot of, you know my grandpa and uncles have a lot of great things to say about coach Shanahan. And having watched his schemes and offensive philosophy and style, I think I’ll fit in very well with that. And I’m just looking forward to getting there and practicing and getting ready to work.”
Even though the pick was a surprise to many, the 49ers had their eye on Beathard for some time, so when Minnesota called general manager John Lynch with the opportunity to trade up, the Niners went for it.
“There was a bunch of good guys in the draft,” said Shanahan. “We leaned toward C.J. with all of us. We definitely felt the best about him. You never know when those guys are going to go. It just takes one to get him and when we got that opportunity just pretty randomly, about half an hour ago, excited us all. So, we didn’t hesitate.”
Well there you have it. The 49ers have drafted their young quarterback. Brian Hoyer will still start, but Beathard may just be the quarterback of the future.
“We’re bringing him in here to develop him, give him a chance,” said Shanahan. “But, just like any other position, everyone competes. Brian’s our starting quarterback and right now, [QB] Matt Barkley’s our second and I look at him to come in and be our third with us only having three on the roster. But, every single day of practice, whether it’s an OTA, whether it’s workouts, whatever it is, people are always competing and we’ll always play the best guy, but by no means did we come into this draft thinking, ‘Hey, we’re going to get a guy to compete with Brian.’ We’re just trying to add people to our roster to improve the overall talent of our team.”
Beathard may not be who everyone was hoping for, but it’s who Lynch and Shanahan think is right. Given their moves thus far, I’m willing to believe they’ve got a plan and it’s a good one. On to day three! Go Niners!
More of my NFL 2017 Draft coverage here
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