49ers had hits but also misses in recent drafts

Bad teams shouldn't stay bad for long in the NFL.

Eventually, they become good teams if they draft well, because they pick high every year. The league wants them to improve.

The 49ers have the second pick this year, and could take Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa, Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, Kentucky outside linebacker Josh Allen or trade down.

The right choice could jumpstart the franchise.

But making the right choice isn't easy. Ask the 49ers.

They would be good already had they drafted the right players in the first round the past five years.

Here's a look at the 49ers' top picks since 2014, and the lessons the 49ers can learn from their past mistakes.

2014: Free safety Jimmie Ward

The 49ers used the 30th pick on Ward, because they needed a cornerback.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, Ward isn't a cornerback. He played free safety in college.

With the 31st pick, the Denver Broncos took a real cornerback, Bradley Roby, the corner the 49ers should have taken instead of Ward.

Since 2014, Roby has intercepted seven passes, broken up 60 and missed just one game, while Ward has intercepted two passes, broken up 21 and missed a whopping 29 games.

He also has played three different positions - corner, nickelback and safety - and struggled at each spot.

This offseason, the 49ers tried to sign Roby, but he chose to join the Houston Texans, a playoff team. So, the 49ers settled on Option B – they re-signed Ward to a one-year deal.

Lesson: Don't spend a first-round pick on a cornerback who didn't play corner in college.

2015: Defensive tackle Arik Armstead

The 49ers had the 15th pick, then traded down two spots to take Armstead, because they needed a defensive lineman to replace the retired Justin Smith. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Armstead is no Justin Smith.

Smith was an outstanding all-around player who recorded 11 sacks his final season in college. Armstead is a run-stuffing specialist who recorded only four sacks in three seasons at the University of Oregon.

One pick after the 49ers took Armstead, the Kansas City Chiefs took cornerback Marcus Peters, who intercepted 11 passes at the University of Washington. Peters won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2015, and has intercepted 22 passes in four NFL seasons.

Armstead remains a competent run defender, so he's not a total bust. But, he has recorded just nine sacks in his career.

Lesson: Don't draft a run-stuffing defensive lineman with a top-20 pick, especially when a playmaking cornerback is available.

2016: Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner

The 49ers used the seventh pick on Buckner, because they still needed a defensive lineman to replace Justin Smith.

Like Armstead, Buckner went to Oregon. Unlike Armstead, Buckner rushed the quarterback well in college. Buckner recorded 10.5 sacks in 13 games during his senior season.

Now, Buckner is the 49ers' best defensive player, and one of the premier defensive tackles in the NFL.

In 2018, he recorded 12 sacks. Justin Smith never recorded more than 8.5 sacks during a season in the NFL.

In retrospect, the 49ers probably took the best non- quarterback in the first round of 2016.

Lesson: Draft the best player available, especially when he fills a need.

2017: Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas

The 49ers had the second pick, then traded down one spot to take Thomas, because they needed an edge-rusher. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Thomas isn't an edge-rusher. He played defensive tackle at Stanford, a position inside the defensive line.

Thomas can't play defensive tackle for the 49ers - Buckner plays that position. So, Thomas has played defensive end for two seasons. He's a good run defender, but he's an ineffective pass rusher. In 2018, he recorded just one sack, and he didn't even touch the quarterback during that play. Thomas merely chased him out of bounds.

Instead of trading down for Thomas, the 49ers could have stayed put and drafted a quarterback - they didn't have a starter at the time. They passed on three quarterbacks who led their teams to the playoffs last season - Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.

Lesson: Don't draft a run-defender with a top-three pick, don't draft a defensive lineman in the first round three years in a row, don't draft a defensive tackle and move him to defensive end and don't pass on a quality young quarterback when you don't have one on the roster.

2018: Right tackle Mike McGlinchey

The 49ers used the ninth pick on McGlinchey even though he didn't fill a need.

They had Trent Brown, a quality right tackle who still is only 25. Head coach Kyle Shanahan decided Brown didn't fit the 49ers' outside-zone blocking scheme, because he's so big. Brown is 6-foot-8, 380 pounds. Shanahan prefers smaller, more agile offensive linemen.

So, the 49ers drafted McGlinchey, who is 6-foot-8, 315 pounds, and placed Brown on the clearance rack. Traded him the next day for very little. Sent him and a fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots for a third-round pick.

With McGlinchey, the 49ers' run game improved - they averaged 4.5 yards per carry in 2018, up from 4.1 yards per carry in 2017. But their pass protection got worse. The 49ers gave up 48 sacks in 2018 (up from 43 in 2017), and McGlinchey was responsible for 12 of those sacks. The 49ers won just four games.

Meanwhile, the Patriots won the Super Bowl, and Brown gave up zero sacks in the playoffs. Now, he's with the Raiders, and is the highest-paid offensive lineman in the history of the NFL. Brown will earn an average of $16.5 million annually.

The 49ers could have kept Brown, and used the ninth pick to fill a need. Could have drafted safety Derwin James, who was available. In 2018, James was first team All Pro as a rookie for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Lesson: Don't spend a top-10 pick on a replacement for a quality player you never should have unloaded in the first place.

Have the 49ers learned their lessons? We'll find out soon enough.