John Lynch Says Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster Were 2 of 49ers' Top 3 Players

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John Lynch made two noteworthy splashes Thursday night during his first draft as the San Francisco 49ers' general manager.

The first came when the 49ers moved down one spot to No. 3 overall in a deal with the Chicago Bears and selected defensive end Solomon Thomas. The second took place when they traded back into Round 1 at No. 31 overall to select linebacker Reuben Foster. 

To hear Lynch tell it, those moves represented huge wins. 

"I can tell you right off the bat that what we had on the board was just under 200 players, and in terms of how we rated them, we got two of our top three players," he said, per ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner. "We were able to do that, and we're thrilled. We're ecstatic. We think these guys have a lot of traits of what we want to be about as a football organization."

Foster slid all the way to the back end of Round 1 due to concerns over his surgically repaired shoulder and a positive drug test that was the result of a diluted sample at the NFL Scouting Combine, but Lynch told reporters Thursday the team was comfortable trading back up to select him. 

"We were exhaustive in getting to know the kid," Lynch said, per Wagoner. "It felt genuine. That's something we loved about Reuben is that he's really genuine, he's got a smile that lights up a room, and the way he plays football is special."

As things stand, the 49ers won't have as many opportunities to make waves on Day 2. Entering Friday night, they own zero second-round picks and a pair of third-round selections (Nos. 66 and 67 overall).