The San Francisco 49ers trade for Chase Young might not have happened if not for the progress of two of their former employees.

San Francisco acquired the star defensive end from the Washington Commanders on Tuesday, doing so for the low cost of a compensatory third-round pick in next year's draft.

It was a special compensatory pick given to the Niners for losing both a minority executive and a coach in the offseason. Former director of player personnel Ran Carthon was hired as the general manager of the Tennessee Titans while DeMeco Ryans was rewarded for his stellar performance as defensive coordinator with a head coaching job with the Houston Texans.

Speaking on KNBR on Wednesday, Lynch confirmed his intention to express gratitude to both men.

"The pick we used was for either Ran Carthon or DeMeco Ryans, one of the two," said Lynch. "We called it the RanMeco. I talked to Ran yesterday and will talk to Demeco and say, thank you guys."

Expanding on that in his conference call with local media, Lynch added:

"That's helpful to be able to have that asset at your disposal. And it's just a reflection, I think, of being surrounded by quality people and them going on having success here being rewarded in a program that the league has in place to incentivize it. And that allowed us to make that happen knowing we're likely having a comp three coming back as well. So, I think we'll still have a third, we're expecting that we have another comp three [for departed free agent Mike McGlinchey]. And those things are valuable, but if you can add a player who can help you, I think it's boosted our team before."

The 49ers have had several success stories with midseason trades, including deals for the likes of Emmanuel Sanders, Charles Omenihu and, last year, this season's leading rusher Christian McCaffrey.

This latest deal also came about as a result of Lynch's relationship with Commanders GM Martin Mayhew, who served in the 49ers' front office from 2017 to 2020.

"Martin and I had touched base quite a while ago, maybe two weeks ago," Lynch said. "And just the likelihood, I was gauging the likelihood that he would be available and Martin thought that there was a good chance it would be in play. We'd been tracking Chase for some time. Martin did a really good job. I'm very appreciative.

"He and I are great friends. I mean, he was a mentor of mine when I arrived in Tampa. We played in the same secondary, so we go way back, one of the first calls when I got here to see if he would come join me. 

"I think relationships matter in these things, and I'm very appreciative, he kept us in the loop, you know, because we were looking at a variety of things. And he just kind of kept coming back saying, 'Here's where it's at.' And ultimately, when we did this, in terms of timeline, when did it break? About 11:30? [PT] Yeah, so it was fairly late in the game."

The 49ers had to play the waiting game to get a huge deal over the line. If Young continues his 2023 resurgence with San Francisco, the trade will be an illustration of the value of patience and of maintaining relationships. Depending on the Young's impact down the stretch of a season the 49ers hope ends in the Super Bowl, Carthon and Ryans might yet receive more thanks from their former boss in the offseason.

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