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Donte Whitner explains what 49ers fans are still waiting to hear originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Former San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner, speaking on The Grit Code, said the fan base is not asking for miracles from the organization, but is asking for honesty, and they have not gotten it.
What fans have been waiting to hear
"All they want to hear is someone from the 49ers take accountability. They want to see someone get up there and say, 'We know we haven't drafted well. We know that. We're trying to figure out why, and we're going to do everything in our power to figure it out, because accountability is number one when you're chasing a championship. And fans haven't heard that. All they hear is 'We have this process and we trade back', we'll get outside of your process, adapt somebody else's, so that we can have some success drafting players and ultimately win a championship." Whitner said.
Instead, what fans heard from GM John Lynch this year came closer to the opposite.
When asked about the perception that the team tends to reach on prospects, Lynch said, "We've got consensus in this building, and that's the consensus that I care about."
Every front office should have conviction in its own board. But when Pro Football Focus grades your class a D and labels seven of your eight selections as reaches, and ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. describes the picks as "confusing," and Pete Prisco writes that De'Zhaun Stribling and Romello Height "have to produce right away" to justify how they were drafted, outside opinions matter. I mean, they cannot all be wrong.
San Francisco traded out of the first round entirely and started Day 2 at No. 33 with Ole Miss wide receiver Stribling, a selection most evaluators considered two full rounds too early. The critical reviews from NFL analysts ranged from a C to a flat D.
Whitner played and watched this organization build something real during those Kyle Shanahan-era runs, and his critique is not coming from someone looking to punch down.
Fans deserve to hear the front office acknowledge when things have not gone well.
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