San Francisco 49ers: Aaron Lynch Is Outplaying His Draft Status

This offseason, Bleacher Report ran a series of posts introducing fans to young players who were going to break out this summer.  For the San Francisco 49ers, I picked Corey Lemonier. 

After all, with Aldon Smith set to serve a suspension of indeterminate length, the 49ers would need to turn to other options on the outside—and why not Lemonier, who had a very promising rookie season subbing for Smith the year before?

However, Lemonier has been a non-factor so far this season.  He didn’t even appear on defense at all over the last two games, both San Francisco victories. 

The 49ers have been going with a rotation at the outside linebacker spot all right, but it hasn’t been Lemonier splitting snaps with Dan Skuta.  It’s been fifth-round pick Aaron Lynch, who looks like he might be the steal of the 2014 draft.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Lynch is tied for the team lead in quarterback hits with Justin Smith, at three apiece.  He’s also second on the team in hurries, right behind Ray McDonald.  Overall, Lynch has earned a +5.8 grade this season, which is 12th in the league among 3-4 outside linebackers.

Patric Schneider/Associated Press

When the 49ers picked up Lynch in the fifth round this season, I was a bit concerned.  His draft profile on NFL.com described him as a “classic underachiever” with “questionable motor and desire.”  I said at the time that, “nine times out of 10, I’d prefer an overachiever with a small frame like Chris Borland to an overachiever with a large frame like Lynch.”

Well, there’s a reason the 49ers took a gamble on Lynch, and it’s showing on the field at this point.  Lynch has really taken a step forward in the 49ers recent two-game win streak, terrorizing right tackles Todd Herremans and Ryan Harris on his way to two of his three QB hits and five of his six hurries. 

The team has rewarded him with an increased snap count—Lynch played more than 25 defensive snaps in each of his last two games, as he’s entirely taken over Lemonier’s role as the nickel pass-rusher.

The 49ers have gambled on players with character concerns in the past, and they’ve had a fairly solid success rate.  NaVorro Bowman slid to the third round because of character concerns, for example, and the 49ers were willing to gamble on him. 

Tarell Brown also was a character concern, being arrested twice at Texas, and was a model citizen in the NFL.  In fact, it’s been a so-called “high-character guy” in Aldon Smith who’s provided the most off-field headaches recently.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

While a five-game sample size is obviously too small to make any final determinations, so far, Lynch has been another model citizen—meaning the 49ers got a steal when they took him in the fifth round.

“I’ve definitely matured,” Lynch said in a recent press conference. “I wouldn’t say my character was bad like it was put out there to be. People that know me know that. I’ve definitely matured as a man and as a football player. That comes with experience and being around older guys.”

Lynch is definitely earning that in-game experience, having played 100 reps on defense as he’s become a key cog in San Francisco’s nickel defense.  Among the 49ers draft picks, only first-round pick Jimmie Ward has more snaps than Lynch has this season:

Player	Off. Snaps	Def. Snaps	ST Snaps	Total
Jimmie Ward	0	174	49	223
Aaron Lynch	0	100	41	141
Dontae Johnson	0	51	68	119
Carlos Hyde	105	0	6	111
Bruce Ellington	39	1	42	82
Chris Borland	0	0	73	73

On local Bay Area radio station KNBR, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio praised Lynch’s performance so far:

"

“Well, he's done well. Like I said, he had a hamstring issue there late in the offseason, which dragged into training camp, so it slowed down his progress. He didn't get to play in preseason games until the second week. He's done well ever since that point. We're expecting him to keep improving. He does play good in the games, and the good thing is the game isn't too big for him. He doesn't go out there and get nervous, like you think some rookies would. He's a very young rookie, being only three years out of high school. He's done well with his opportunities, and we're hoping that he keeps improving and realizes his full potential.”

"

Lynch has shown a wide variety of pass-rushing moves and talent in the two games he’s been a regular player in.  He’s been a spark of pressure for a team that hasn’t been doing much pass rushing so far this season—he’s not looking like a rookie out there at all. 

Niners Nation has a good, GIF-filled breakdown of his performance against Philadelphia which you should take a look at—Lynch is just making Todd Herremans look like he doesn’t know what he’s doing out there.  Definitely not a situation of the game being too big for him.

So far, Lynch has been the best reserve the 49ers have had.  It gives them a good problem to have in a few weeks—how to keep giving Lynch opportunities when Aldon Smith comes back from his suspension in Week 10 against the New York Giants. 

I’m sure he’ll see his opportunities diminish, but I do hope we continue to see him developing in game action, even when Smith comes back.

The 49ers did indeed have a young outside linebacker step up to the plate and break out during Smith’s suspension.  It just wasn’t the player most people expected to.  Let’s hope Lynch can continue defying expectations and succeeding on an NFL level.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on twitter.