Transcripts: John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan Speak Before the 2021 NFL Draft

[Sourdough Sam]

If I could squeeze in two. One is just, can you say with certainty that Jimmy Garoppolo will be on the roster on Sunday? Also, I'm sure you guys have thought about this for decades, but particularly now, just why is it, as you know, even quarterbacks selected with the top three pick, it's kind of a 50-50 proposition. I would assume all those guys, top three quarterbacks, have the talent. What do you think are the one or two things that prevents that other 50 percent from making it in the NFL, intangible wise or otherwise?​

KS: "I can't guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday, so I can't guarantee who will be on our roster on Sunday. So, that goes for all of us. Second of all, now I've already forgotten your second one. What was it? Oh yeah, why is it 50-50? Because this is a very hard position to play. Why are pass rushers 50-50? Why are a lot of people in the top 10, man, almost everybody 50-50? Because the NFL is a very tough league and then you add in a quarterback that has so much more to do with being, you've got to be so elite in so many different areas to make it at this level and I promise you, there aren't 32 that come out every year. If you look back in drafts, there's anywhere from one to five and sometimes zero. It's not easy to come into this league. Look at it the same with pass rushers, look at it at every position. So, it's all like this. This is why the draft is tough, but it's the quarterback, pass rushers, those are usually the hardest positions to get. That's why you do, I think, see people take those chances the most early in the draft, because if you do want to get one of those types of players, they're are a lot harder to find later."


JL: "Just to expand on that, I think what I mentioned earlier, typically if the team's picking a quarterback high, they're not a very good team. We were picking 12th, our record wasn't very good, reasons for that, but that's the reality. I do think we're somewhat uniquely set up to provide a positive environment for a rookie quarterback to come in and like I said, when they're ready, have a good opportunity with a team that we think is going to be pretty good to go play and be put in an environment where they can be successful. I think oftentimes that's just not the case and maybe they're rushed to play early and that can have consequences moving forward. So, we've got to do our best. We're pleased with what we've done this offseason to this point and we've got to continue that with the draft and it starts with the number three pick."

You mentioned soliciting opinions from all over. I would assume with three quarterbacks or five quarterbacks, I guess in this case, that opinions kind of are wide ranging. How much disagreement has there been internally on this decision and how do you guys kind of go through working through that?​

JL: "I don't think there's been a lot of disagreement. There's opinions, there's conviction. That's what we want. If you're going to ask for people's opinion, I think you better listen to it and we ask our people to be convicted. We don't group think. We don't say, 'Hey, let's all go in there and make sure we talk good about this guy.' I think it's indicative of the quality of players at that position that there's going to be splits, but I think one thing we've always arrived at is don't run from a situation, because you don't have complete, everybody just unanimously, 'I'm with that guy.' Let's all try to come to a consensus and that's everyone's job. Okay? Make another tape, show me why this guy, why do you have that opinion, challenge, thoughts, and opinions, and that's what we try to do. As we mentioned, ultimately, I think it's worked fairly well for us. We get together and then we take all of that and we put it into, 'Okay, what are we going to do now?' And that's what we're charged to do and as we said, by Thursday, we'll have that decision, and I think we're going to be very happy with it."

On the topic of Jimmy Garoppolo, how do you look at his situation at this point? How's he handling this and what do you expect Thursday night's impact to be on his future with the team?​

JL: "Jimmy's been a pro. He really has. I just spoke to him over the weekend and he's here. He's taking part in our virtual meetings, plans on being at the workouts. And, Jimmy has been completely professional as he always has been with us. I think the thought is, and I'm sure some might say, 'Well, okay, if all those things are the case and he's extremely talented, why are you doing this? Why did you make such a bold move?' So much goes into that, but Jimmy knows. I think one thing we've always tried to do with all our players, and Jimmy as well, is just be very upfront and honest with what we're doing and why we're doing it and my experience as a player, when people do that, you can live with that."


KS: "I mean, the biggest thing with Jimmy is his injuries that's been very tough for us when he's been hurt. It's happened two out of these three years, and that's where it starts and Jimmy knows that. I've been very upfront with him with everything. We've been Zooming these last two weeks. I'm excited to get him in here, coming up, especially when this draft's over, but I feel very fortunate taking a rookie quarterback that we do have a guy like Jimmy. That we didn't sign a guy who's capable or has the history of being a starter right away, but we have a guy who, every time he's been a starter, he's played at a high level. So, to have that with Jimmy while adding a rookie quarterback, gives us a lot of leeway into this. We're not going to set anything in stone, but I know that's a situation that it would be hard to get rid of. I mean, when you take a rookie quarterback and you have a veteran like Jimmy, who we know we can win with, just to move on from that is something that—it's not easy to do. That is a good situation for us, and I think that's something that will be important to us this year."