San Francisco moved from No. 15 to No. 7 in the 1994 first…
San Francisco moved from No. 15 to No. 7 in the 1994 first round and used the higher pick on defensive tackle Bryant Young, while the Rams collected No. 15 plus second- and third-round selections. Wayne Gandy became a long-term starter, but Young developed into a Hall of Fame cornerstone, giving San Francisco the stronger return despite the Rams' useful volume.
Los Angeles Rams Received
- pick 1994 1st round pick (15th overall, Wayne Gandy), 1994 2nd round pick (56th overall, Brad Ottis) and 1994 3rd round pick (100th overall, Ernest Jones )
San Francisco 49ers Received
- pick 1994 1st round pick (7th overall, Bryant Young )
Trade Analysis
This was a classic quantity-for-quality draft trade. The Rams owned the seventh pick in 1994 and sent it to San Francisco for the 15th selection plus second- and third-round choices. The 49ers used No. 7 on Notre Dame defensive tackle Bryant Young. Los Angeles used No. 15 on tackle Wayne Gandy, No. 56 on defensive lineman Brad Ottis and No. 100 on linebacker Ernest Jones. The Rams therefore received three opportunities while San Francisco concentrated its value in one premium prospect.
The Rams did get a legitimate long-term NFL player. Gandy appeared in 219 games and made 205 starts over a 15-season career, giving the package real value even though much of his later work came after he left the Rams. Ottis and Jones did not approach that level. That makes the Rams' A-minus understandable: moving down eight spots and adding two selections was sound draft economics, and the first of those selections produced a durable starting tackle.
Young changed the scale of the comparison. He became one of the defining defensive players in 49ers history, helped San Francisco win Super Bowl XXIX as a rookie and eventually earned four Pro Bowl selections, first-team All-Pro recognition and induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He finished with 89.5 official sacks and spent his entire career with the franchise. The 49ers paid a meaningful premium to move up, but they identified the best player in the exchange and retained him for more than a decade.
The verdict therefore belongs to San Francisco, though this was not a bad trade for the Rams. Los Angeles accumulated useful capital and found Gandy. San Francisco simply converted the higher pick into a Hall of Fame interior defender, the kind of outcome that can justify sacrificing multiple selections.