49ers ‘win’ their draft with trade

How about this grade? Incomplete. If there is one thing in common every draft pick has— from overall No. 1 pick Joe Burrow to “Mr. Irrelevant” Tae Crowder as the 255th and last pick and every draft pick between — it’s this: not one of them has taken a single snap in the NFL. Burrow could be a bust. Crowder could be Rookie of the Year. We won’t know until the season actually plays out.

So whether you think the San Francisco 49ers blew it by taking a defensive tackle with the No. 14 pick instead of a wide receiver, it remains to be seen. But if you really want to grade the 49ers draft, one has to look at the entirety of the process. While they did draft a handful of rookies, their biggest move of the weekend was stealing left tackle Trent Williams in a trade with the Washington Redskins for a fifth-round draft pick in this year’s draft and a third rounder next year.

Unlike first-round picks Javon Kinlaw (a defensive tackle out of University of South Carolina) and Brandon Aiyuk (a wide receiver from Arizona State) Williams in a known quantity. The 2010 No. 4 overall pick by Washington out of University of Oklahoma, Williams has since become a seven-time Pro Bowler.

He’ll replace Joe Staley, who made the Pro Bowl four times in 13 years and who waited until the deal was complete before announcing his retirement. Williams missed all of last season as he sat out because of his distrust of the Washington organization, so he should be fresh and ready to this season — assuming there is a 2020 season.

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Devin Asiasi, a Redwood City native and a 2016 graduate of De La Salle High School in Concord, was the only player with local ties to be drafted when the New England Patriots took him with the 91st pick in the third round.

His dad, Dave Asiasi, played at College of San Mateo and Menlo College.

A 6-3, 257-pound tight end, Asiasi had a breakout year with UCLA last season, finishing with 44 catches for 641 yards and four touchdowns.

Asiasi, who was a two-way standout at De La Salle, initially headed to University of Michigan out of high school, where he played as a true freshman. He transferred to UCLA after the season, however. In three college seasons, Asiasi had 52 catches for 789 yards and six touchdowns.

BleacherReport.com reporter Matt Miller said, “Asiasi might never be a Pro Bowler, but he will at a minimum be a good starter or high-level rotational player. With so many teams focused on adding depth at tight end to emulate what Baltimore has done offensively, Asiasi’s traits as a three-down player are valuable.”

Asiasi joins another Redwood City product with the Patriots — receiver Julian Edelman.

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Menlo School point guard Avery Lee, who recently wrapped up her junior year with the Knights, tweeted Sunday that she will be attending Yale University to play for the Bulldogs.

Already a three-year varsity player, Lee has averaged 15 points per game for her career, which encompasses 81 games. She also has 5.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game.

In three seasons with Lee, Menlo has compiled a record of 53-21 overall and 21-11 in the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division. She helped guide the Knights to three consecutive Central Coast Section Open Division brackets and to the 2018-19 Division II state championship with a 70-63 win over Rolling Hills-San Pedro. The Knights were preparing to play Bishop O’Dowd in the quarterfinals of the Nor Cal Division I bracket when they forfeited to the Dragons because of the coronavirus.

A few days later, the California Interscholastic Federation canceled the remainder of the tournament.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117.