NFC Notes: Marvin Harrison Jr., Kyle Shanahan, 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

Having a late-first-round pick and no immediate holes on the roster, the 49ers have been using the draft to build for the future. San Francisco HC Kyle Shanahan went through how they approach the draft with 2025 and beyond at the forefront.

“It’s been almost this way three years in a row,” Shanahan said, via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “I think it gets a little more each year because it gets harder each year. And the hardest thing is when you go through the draft and especially when you feel you’re a contender and things like that, you want to do everything to just look at your board and how you fill those holes and everything.”

“But that’s not really how the draft works. It’s how it comes to you … Do you go with what kind of helps us now or what helps us more in the future? And so, you’re just constantly weighing that, whether it’s the draft, whether that’s free agency and everything.”

Cardinals

Cardinals second-round CB Max Melton knows there will be comparisons throughout his career to those other CBs drafted right before him. Melton isn’t worried about other’s opinions and also commented on his excitement to play with first-round WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

“Everybody’s gonna have an opinion,” Melton said, via Bobby Kownack of NFL.com “Opinions are like Gucci belts — everybody has one. Everybody is going to have an opinion. Nobody is ever going to be 100 percent on the same page, especially when you’re talking about millions of fans. I know come the season, once we get a couple weeks in, I think they’ll be happy with their pick.”

“I’m so happy it worked out like this because I feel like he’s one of the best. I mean he was the first wide receiver off the board. He is the best wide receiver in this draft. So to go against that every day, I’m just blessed. And I know iron sharpens iron, we’re going to go off each other and translate it to the game field and win some football games.”

• Per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, Harrison Jr. is not signing the league’s group licensing agreement to help renegotiate his Fanatics deal.

Seahawks

The Seahawks are entering a new era in the first year without HC Pete Carroll and made first-round DT Byron Murphy II the first pick of the new tenure. Seattle HC Mike Macdonald and GM John Schneider discussed why Murphy had to be the pick.

“He just plays our style of football, really,” Macdonald said, via ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “And then he’s so talented. Versatility along the front, such an aggressive player, plays violently, heavy hands for a guy [of] shorter stature, flexible, pass-rush flexibility — you name it. Yeah, just really excited to have him.”

“Ryan Florence, Matt Berry, everybody in that room really that studied him, everybody loved him,” Schneider added. “He went to the combine, had a great combine … I never talked to him. I totally tried staying away from him. I didn’t think he’d be available, but still, not to try to show much interest. Our guys were all over him. The defensive staff loved him. Like Mike said, it was just complete buy-in.”