During the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon, former Bulls defensive end Aaron Lynch was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.
Lynch was projected to be a first round pick by ESPN after his freshman season with Notre Dame, totaling 33 tackles and 5.5 sacks, but after sitting out a season and transferring to USF, his draft stock dropped due to unfulfilled potential and a loss of weight. Lynch lost about 30 pounds after his freshman season at Notre Dame, which was a significant problem for scouts.
Despite the criticism, Lynch was still an American Athletic All-Conference player and led the Bulls in sacks and tackles for loss.
Lynch is the 23rd player to be drafted from USF and the second to be drafted by the 49ers, the other being B.J. Daniels during the seventh round last season. In San Francisco, Jim Harbaugh, who coached alongside USF football coach Willie Taggart when the two were at Stanford, will coach Lynch.
Despite only one USF player being drafted, four wound up on NFL teams by the end of the night. DeDe Lattimore, Ryne Giddins and Tevin Mims signed as undrafted free agents. Originally, Lattimore signed with the Lions, but he later accepted a deal with the Bears instead. Mims and Giddins stayed in Florida, signing with the Dolphins and Buccaneers, respectively.
— Staff report
