The NFL draft is a couple of days away, and the San Francisco 49ers have an interesting haul of picks. They will pick in the first, the second, and the fourth rounds, but due to compensatory picks, they hold four picks on Saturday. John Lynch made an interesting reveal on Monday regarding their process.
John Lynch Embraces AI as 49ers Look to Fix Draft Woes
During the 49ers’ pre-draft press conference, the general manager revealed that the 49ers developed ways to use AI in their draft process. Lynch didn’t give out details about how they use it in the process, but he also speculated that every team is currently using AI:
“If you aren’t using it, you’re already behind. The cool thing we found is, you don’t have to be an expert. You can just ask the thing, and it spits out pretty good things, pretty good ideas. We’re at the center of the innovation there, and we try to take advantage of that. I do think every team is using it in some kind of fashion.”
Lynch’s response prompted a reaction from the NFL World. While some tools could make the process easier, recent 49ers drafts haven’t been positive, and many analysts have noted this.
“Yet another example of NFL GMS pretending that their job is much more complicated than it is. They need you to think that this shit is difficult and intricate so that you can’t get too mad when they fuck up constantly,” football analyst Joe A posted.
Yet another example of NFL GMS pretending that their job is much more complicated than it is. They need you to think that this shit is difficult and intricate so that you can’t get too mad when they fuck up constantly. https://t.co/GWaztqdPXW
— Joe (@JoeA_NFL) April 20, 2026
Another analyst, Sam Esfandiari, decided to make fun of the situation.
He used AI to predict a running back pick for the 49ers in 2026: since Kyle Shanahan became the coach in 2017, San Francisco drafted six running backs, and none of them panned out.
https://t.co/kLK5ErExpt pic.twitter.com/2uhy84jUva
— Sam Esfandiari (@samesfandiari) April 20, 2026
Doctor Jeff Mueller, who provides analysis about football injuries on X, joked about another kind of AI, writing, “What does Allen Iverson know about football?”
What does Allen Iverson know about football? https://t.co/tFx4sV5Io1
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) April 20, 2026
USA Today’s Andrew Harbaugh also had an interesting reaction to Lynch’s AI reveal.
https://t.co/mgk3WrsvGQ pic.twitter.com/nR2zbn56Oy
— Andrew Harbaugh (@HarbaughAndrew) April 20, 2026
And finally, 49ers writer David Fucillo believes that Lynch’s comments have been overblown, with AI serving to improve efficiency, but not without the hard job done at the same time.
“But after thinking it through, I’m pretty sure what Lynch was saying is that you don’t need to be an expert at AI. It’s not about anybody being able to be a draft expert, but rather an expert at using the product.”
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However, they design their AI use during the draft process; the 49ers have to improve their recent draft record. The franchise has been a constant in the NFC playoffs, but many of their picks haven’t worked out as expected. This is something that John Lynch needs to improve in his job.
