49ers GM John Lynch tells interesting story behind controversial draft pick
It was pretty much guaranteed that debate would immediately follow the San Francisco 49ers' decision to draft kicker Jake Moody with the 99th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. And sure enough, we haven't been disappointed. The debate is going to last until Moody is a perennial Pro Bowler, as well. And, that's pretty […]
It was pretty much guaranteed that debate would immediately follow the San Francisco 49ers' decision to draft kicker Jake Moody with the 99th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
And sure enough, we haven't been disappointed.
The debate is going to last until Moody is a perennial Pro Bowler, as well. And, that's pretty reasonable. People are always going to debate the selection of a kicker in the first 100 picks of the draft, regardless of the well-rounded status that is the 49ers' current roster.
49ers general manager John Lynch recently added a layer to the story, however. Apparently, teams were trying to trade up in front of the 49ers in an attempt to snag Moody for themselves. A few teams also told Lynch about their plan to take the former Michigan Wolverine not long after the 99th pick.
"I can tell you, since then, a lot of teams have called and said, you know, shortly thereafter they were going there," Lynch said during an interview with KNBR's Murph & Mac Show, via NFL.com. "And in fact, teams tried to trade up to get in front of us. So, [it's] something we feel really good about. Time will tell, as it will with all these guys. But we think he [Moody] has the makings of a cornerstone, foundational-type player for years to come and we're proud to have him."
Moody is already under a lot of pressure as a top-100 pick and it certainly doesn't help that he will potentially follow in the footsteps of Pro Bowler Robbie Gould. The 17-year veteran was as clutch and reliable as they come during his time with the 49ers. Filling his shoes won't be easy, at all.
But, there is one big advantage Moody has over Gould, if he were to win the job: leg strength.
"I think this guy will give us an opportunity to extend where we've been able to kick from," said Lynch. "I think we'll be able to kick the 55-plus yarders now. I think on the kickoffs, this is a guy who can put 'em into the end zone when we need, kick 'em out of the end zone. We can hang it up there. I think he affords us the opportunity to do a lot of things."
Gould made 65% of his attempts from 50+ yards with the 49ers, which is better than the league average of 64% from 2017-2020, but obviously just barely.
Per Pro Football Focus, Gould's overall kickoff grade of 57.9 finished 23rd out of 33 qualifying kickers (min. 36 kickoffs). He averaged 65.8 yards per kickoff, which ranked 25th. Opponents also returned his kickoffs at the sixth-highest rate (49.5%) and combined for 47 total returns, which was third-most.
Fortunately, the 49ers had a solid coverage team that kept the kickoff team around league-average in terms of starting field position and length of return. The idea is Moody can come in and immediately help a solid coverage team become that much better by limiting opponents' opportunities.
Who knows if what Lynch is saying is actually true. Odds are he isn't lying – that just isn't what the guy does and the people who pay attention to what he does will be the first to tell you that. Regardless, it is reassuring to hear the 49ers weren't the only team coveting Moody.
