Tag: 49ers draft picks

2025 NFL draft: 49ers only projected to receive 2 compensatory picks

The #49ers aren’t going to lead the league in comp picks next year, but they’ve still got plenty of draft picks to work with:

The 49ers have done a nice job the last few years of playing the compensatory pick game in free agency, which allowed them to stock up on additional selections thanks to their free agent departures and additions. They also promoted internal minority coaches and front office executives, allowing those coaches and execs to get head coach and general manager jobs which in turn awarded the 49ers third-round comp picks thanks to the expanded Rooney Rule.

Next year’s draft will only see two comp picks awarded to San Francisco as part of the comp pick formula according to projections from Over the Cap. Their projections aren’t official, but they’re very good at mapping out what teams will receive what comp picks.

OTC expects the 49ers to get a fifth-round pick for quarterback Sam Darnold’s exit, and a seventh-round pick for tight end Charlie Woerner’s departure. They’ll also receive a third-round pick for DeMeco Ryans landing as the Houston Texans head coach.

While the quantity isn’t as abundant as it has been the last two years, the 49ers will be in a fine spot from a draft capital standpoint. Here are the picks they’re projected to have:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 3 (Compensatory)
Round 4
Round 5 (Compensatory)
Round 6
Round 7
Round 7 (Compensatory)

The lone pick missing from San Francisco’s stash is the fifth-rounder they surrendered as part of a punishment from the NFL for an accounting error the club committed. They recouped the fifth-round choice with the Darnold comp pick though, so they’ll have at least one pick to work with in every round.

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Don’t sleep on this 49ers Day 3 pick

Don’t sleep on this new #49ers wide receiver.

The 49ers’ selection of wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in Round 1 of the 2024 draft made plenty of waves regarding the future of San Francisco’s receiving corps. While speculation swirled about where he fit in the near and long-term, the 49ers made another addition to their receiving corps when they selected WR Jacob Cowing with the final pick of the fourth round.

Cowing’s 5-8, 168-pound frame is a big reason he slid, but it didn’t deter Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar from calling him the 49ers’ best sleeper in a list of underrated picks in this year’s draft.

Despite his frame, Farrar’s praise for Cowing is effusive thanks to the receiver’s deep speed and ability to win in the short areas of the passing game.

In 2023, the 5′ 8⅜”, 163-pound Cowing had six receptions on passes of 20 or more air yards on a team where the deep ball wasn’t a feature. His tape shows a lot of speed potential, and in today’s NFL, teams are less concerned with smaller receivers, given the use of motion and multiple deployments to keep them open, and away from bigger, more aggressive defenders.

And here’s Farrar talking about Cowing with NFL analyst Greg Cosell, who has been a huge Cowing fan since the receiver was at UTEP in 2021:

A sizable question mark about the 49ers going forward is whether they can continue stacking their offense with high-end playmakers. With the futures of Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel in question finding additional receivers to usher the offense into a new era will be key for San Francisco. Pearsall will get plenty of opportunities to be one of those players, but Cowing could certainly be a major part of the club going forward and another Day 3 gem who helps keep the 49ers’ Super Bowl window open.

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Malik Mustapha might be most important member of 49ers’ 2024 draft class

Why Malik Mustapha is the most important 49ers’ 2024 draft pick:

There aren’t that many worlds where the 49ers can salvage the trade up in the draft for quarterback Trey Lance. Safety Malik Mustapha, a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, gives San Francisco at least a slim chance to do it.

Regardless of the reason the Lance trade didn’t work for the 49ers it’s impossible to call it a success. They dealt three first-round picks and a third-round pick to move up for a player they traded before that player’s third season began. That’s a mess no matter how many ways it gets sliced.

Last year San Francisco sent Lance to the Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round pick. It was that pick, No. 124 overall, that landed the 49ers Mustapha.

This is their lone path toward salvaging something from the initial Lance deal. Not that they’ve been mired in mediocrity or not having success on the field. They’ve been to at least the NFC championship in every season since the trade, but Mustapha is now the ultimate result of that deal.

While finding quality safety play is imperative in a pass-heavy NFL, finding players specifically like Mustapha who can play in coverage while providing enough thump against the run to stay effective when offenses go bigger is essential.

However, on top of the importance mentioned above, there’s the added layer of softening the blow of the Lance deal. Chances are Mustapha isn’t going to be Ronnie Lott. If he can be a Pro Bowl or All-Pro caliber safety though it would be much easier to erase some of the negative fallout of the Lance deal. The 49ers will never get those first-round picks back and we’ll never know what players they would’ve drafted had they not moved up in the 2021 draft. We also don’t know whether those players would’ve helped them win a Super Bowl. For now the unknown weighs heavily though in the light of two NFC championship game defeats and an overtime loss in the Super Bowl.

Mustapha has a chance to usher in a new era for the 49ers’ defense though. And if he can do that while playing at a high enough level that he helps San Francisco eventually win a sixth Lombardi Trophy, it would undo lot of the weight sitting on the franchise from the 2021 draft gone wrong.

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Former 49ers GM thinks 49ers might’ve found their Trent Williams replacement

A former 49ers GM believes San Francisco might’ve landed its long-term replacement for Trent Williams in this year’s draft.

Offensive tackle was often circled as the 49ers’ most glaring need heading into the NFL draft. We speculated here at Niners Wire that they might even trade up to find an upgrade at right tackle who could conceivably switch to the left side whenever Trent Williams decided to retire. Not only did San Francisco not trade up, they didn’t appear to draft an offensive tackle at all. However, former 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan believes one of their two selections on the offensive line could actually succeed Williams.

The 49ers didn’t address their offensive line in either the first or second round this year, opting to wait until the third round to pounce. At that point they traded up from No. 94 to No. 86 to select Kansas OL Dominick Puni. While Puni spent all of last season playing left tackle for the Jayhawks, he has experience at right tackle and guard, and most draft analysts project him as a guard. While McCloughan told Matt Barrows of the Athletic he believes Puni will play guard, the former GM didn’t rule out the third-round pick moving back to his natural left tackle position someday.

“I think he’ll end up being a guard,” McCloughan said in the Athletic. “He’s really good with his hips and feet. Really good. But I’m not so sure he can’t be a left tackle when it’s all said and done … if he gets stronger.”

This would be a pretty huge deal for San Francisco. Finding a replacement for Williams is going to move further up the priority list every offseason and if they got that player in Round 3 it’d check a sizable box for their future.

That’s a long way off though for Puni who will need to first prove he can hang at either right guard or right tackle in his first season. It sounds like San Francisco views him as competitor for the starting right guard spot for now. If he wins that and plays well though he could start getting looks for a move back out to tackle.

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49ers’ NFL draft haul signals roster changes on horizon

The 49ers didn’t make any major changes to their roster this year. If the draft is any indication, though, next offseason will be different:

The 49ers’ 2024 NFL draft selections didn’t feature any moves that will dramatically alter the roster this season. Trade talk about wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel quieted as the selection process moved into Day 2, and it became clear throughout the three-day event that San Francisco is gearing up for long-term changes to its roster.

Wide receiver is the most obvious spot that could look very different next season. That became clear when the 49ers selected WR Ricky Pearsall at No. 31 overall. Future changes in the WR corps were further confirmed in Round 4 when the 49ers took Arizona WR Jacob Cowing No. 135 overall.

Both players figure to make the roster this season, which would change the back end of the depth chart. Next year is when things could change more dramatically with Samuel potentially gone and Jauan Jennings potentially entering free agency.

The selection of Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha at No. 124 overall was another hint that changes are coming.

Mustapha figures to earn a starting job in the NFL. The 49ers have Talanoa Hufanga and Ji’Ayir Brown slated to start at the two safety spots this season, but Hufanga is an unrestricted free agent next year and the Mustapha pick puts the writing on the wall.

Assuming Hufanga fully recovers from his torn ACL and continues playing like one of the top safeties in the league, he’ll get a contract in free agency that soars well north of what San Francisco will be able to afford.

Extensions will also be required to keep players like cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir and left guard Aaron Banks. It’s easy to draw a line between the cost of their next contracts and the Day 2 selections of CB Renardo Green and OL Dominick Puni.

Even the trade up for running back Isaac Guerendo is a signal that time could in the Bay Area could be running out for RBs Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason – both expected to hit free agency next offseason.

The 49ers didn’t suddenly become cheap. They just have to start sacrificing some areas of the roster with a sizable payday coming for quarterback Brock Purdy, whose rookie contract is halfway through. Once Purdy becomes more expensive, the 49ers will have to alter the way their roster is constructed. This is the reality of team building in a league with a hard salary cap.

That means letting some good players out the door. The 49ers worked through this draft as though they’re gearing up to replace some of those players as the roster needs to become younger.

In 2024 the 49ers will aim to get back to the Super Bowl with most of the same core that’s been around since their first Super Bowl run with Kyle Shanahan in 2019. Next year it’ll start looking different, though, and a handful of players taken in this year’s draft will be key in ushering in that new era of football in San Francisco.

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WATCH: 49ers 7th-round LB Tatum Bethune loves to hit

49ers 7th-round LB Tatum Bethune is a lot of fun to watch.

The 49ers have a type at linebacker and it’s clear watching Florida State Tatum Bethune run around why San Francisco identified him as the player they wanted with the 251st overall pick in the 2024 draft.

His lack of size probably contributed to his fall into the seventh round, and there are some missed tackles that come as a result of his aggressiveness in getting to the football. When he connects though, it is loud.

He walloped LSU quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels on a hit often used to show why Daniels could have trouble adapting to the NFL.

There may or may not ever be a starting job for Bethune, but if he winds up getting regular defensive playing time it wouldn’t be a surprise.

Check out these highlight clips:

Instant analysis: Can 7th-round LB Tatum Bethune carve out role in Year 1?

Did the #49ers draft their next great starting LB in the 7th round?

There was already going to be a bit of a logjam for the 49ers at linebacker, and now their LB room is more crowded after the club selected Florida State’s Tatum Bethune with their final pick (251 overall) in this year’s draft.

Bethune fits the mold to play the Will linebacker spot in the 49ers’ defense. He’s 5-11, 229 pounds, but it’s not evident from watching him where he flies around and sticks his nose in with force against the run. There is plenty of athleticism and instinct in coverage to believe Bethune could become a viable coverage option as a pro. He also had good ball production in college with 14 pass breakups and four interceptions.

The problem for him finding his way onto the roster is that he’ll have Fred Warner and De’Vondre Campbell ahead of him on the depth chart. Veteran Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles is also back, along with second-year LBs Dee Winters and Jalen Graham. Dre Greenlaw’s status is uncertain after he tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl, but he could return in the 2024 campaign.

Bethune’s path to a roster spot will start on special teams, but he’ll have an opportunity during his rookie year to place himself as a potential long-term starting option in the event Greenlaw doesn’t re-sign with the 49ers this offseason. To get there though he’ll need to outperform both Winters and Graham who looked good in preseason action last year.

There are plenty of tools for Bethune to become a starting LB in the NFL. Now he has to prove it in a crowded, but largely unproven LB room.

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49ers final pick in 2024 NFL draft is LB Tatum Bethune

The final pick is in for the #49ers in the 2024 NFL draft!

The 49ers wrapped up their 2024 NFL draft by selecting Florida State linebacker Tatum Bethune with the 251st overall pick.

Bethune is a very 49ers linebacker prospect in that he’s undersized with good athleticism and a ton of aggression that allows him to play bigger than his 5-11, 229-pound frame.

Before joining Florida State, Bethune played for three seasons at the University of Central Florida where he played in 35 games with 17 starts. With the Seminoles he started 21 of the 26 games he played.

In his 61 college games Bethune posted 339 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 14 pass breakups and four interceptions.

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Instant analysis of 49ers 6th-round pick Jarrett Kingston

49ers 6th-round OL Jarrett Kingston played almost every position on the OL in college. So where will he play with San Francisco?

Near the end of Round 6 of the draft, the 49ers made another addition to their offensive line. With the 215th overall pick, San Francisco brought in USC offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston. During six college seasons, Kingston was a jack of all trades, master of none.

That experience at so many spots had to be a key selling point for San Francisco as they aim to add some quality depth along their offensive line. Whether Jackson will be able to play in the NFL remains to be seen, but his athleticism should allow him to at least be competitive in the quest to eventually earn a roster spot.

Chances are his first season is spent on the practice squad, where the 49ers hone his skill set at one position. His frame (6-4, 308 pounds with 32-inch arms) says he’ll be a guard in the NFL unless San Francisco wants to try playing him at center — the lone position he didn’t play in college.

If Kingston winds up being a quality, versatile offensive lineman, he could become a viable backup for a 49ers club that doesn’t have a ton of depth up front.

 

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49ers add to OL, select USC G Jarrett Kingston in 6th round

The pick is in! It’s USC OL Jarrett Kingston to the #49ers with the 215th pick.

The 49ers made another addition to their offensive line late in this year’s draft. With the 215th overall pick San Francisco selected USC guard Jarrett Kingston.

Kingston played a lot of football across his six-year college career. He began his college time with Washington State where he played in 37 games with 26 starts. In his lone year with the Trojans after transferring he started 11 of the 12 games he played.

Impressively, Kingston started at four of the five spots on the offensive line. He started 16 games at left guard, 10 at left tackle, six at right guard and five at right tackle. Given his 6-4, 308-pound frame and relatively short arms (just over 32 inches) he’ll probably wind up sticking as a guard in the NFL.

He’s a good athlete with plenty of experience. His NFL future will rely on him settling at a position and honing his skill set there.

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