Tag: 49ers draft

Where are the 49ers scheduled to pick in the 2025 NFL draft?

For those of you reading ahead, here’s where the 49ers stand in the NFL draft order:

Mid-November is probably too early to start earnestly diving into the NFL draft for the San Francisco 49ers.

Some teams are already eyeing April’s three-day selection event, and while the 49ers playoff chances are dwindling, they still have the talent to turn a corner and make a run at the postseason.

Until the 49ers turn that corner though, we have to operate like they’re not going to, thus leading us to take a quick peek at the 2025 NFL draft order.

Next year’s draft will be particularly important for a 49ers club that’s may be entering a transition stage where they need to supplement their roster with some top-end talent to fill some starting jobs and shore up depth on a top-heavy roster.

The problem for the 49ers goes back to what we just talked about up top — they’re not bad enough to worry about the draft yet which means they’re in the purgatory that sits between a playoff berth and a premium draft pick.

Here’s where things stand in the NFL draft order (non-playoff team edition) after 11 weeks according to Tankathon:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)
2. Tennessee Titans (2-8)
3. Cleveland Browns (2-8)
4. New York Giants (2-8)
5. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8)
6. New England Patriots (3-8)
7. New York Jets (3-8)
8. Carolina Panthers (3-7)
9. Dallas Cowboys (3-7)
10. New Orleans Saints (4-7)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
12. Miami Dolphins (4-6)
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)
14. Chicago Bears (4-6)
15. Indianapolis Colts (5-6)
16. Seattle Seahawks (5-5)
17. Los Angeles Rams (5-5)
18. San Francisco 49ers (5-5)

That’s right. The 49ers, who are last in the NFC West by way of tiebreaker, would also pick last out of the three 5-5 NFC West teams because of the strength of schedule tiebreaker.

Because the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks all have 5-5 records, the strength of schedule tiebreaker kicks in. The team with the lower strength of schedule gets the earlier draft pick. San Francisco’s opponents have a .549 winning percentage. Seattle’s is .531, and LA’s is .534.

It’s worth noting those numbers are based on season-long percentages. The 49ers have the lowest strength of schedule after 11 weeks.

Ideally the 49ers will turn their season around and find their way into the postseason. For now, we’ll continue keeping track of where they stand in the NFL draft order.

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Kyle Shanahan explains why 49ers didn’t address biggest perceived weakness in NFL draft

The 49ers usually don’t address their offensive line in the offseason. It’s hard to argue with Kyle Shanahan’s explanation.

There’s been a common critique of the 49ers’ last handful of offseasons. They seldom do anything substantial to address their offensive line, which has been arguably the weakest link on their roster over the last five seasons.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan in an appearance on the ‘TK Show’ with Tim Kawakami explained why the club opted not to shell out a first-round pick for an offensive lineman this year after going without a first-round pick in the last two drafts.

While offensive line might have topped the club’s list of “needs,” Shanahan’s philosophy on team building kept the 49ers from bending over backwards to find an upgrade up front.

“I’ve heard the narrative that we’re ignoring the O-line and stuff,” Shanahan told Kawakami. “If we felt the O-line was the best pick there there’s no doubt that’s who we’d take, but there were some O-lineman there at the end of the first round that we feel has just as good of a chance as a guy at the end of the second round. One’s a higher prospect and might have a higher ceiling, but I’m not too concerned about the ceiling. I want to know if he’s gonna be a starting left tackle, a starting left guard, whatever – a starting NFL player. And if you are a starting NFL lineman, I think we can have a good team with you. Now, if we have a bunch of starting NFL lineman and there’s no one who can score points, you’re not gonna have that good of an offense.”

It’s hard to argue with the results. Since 2017 when Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over the 49ers have used only one first-round pick on an offensive lineman. That was right tackle Mike McGlinchey in the 2018 draft. Their lone second-round OL is left guard Aaron Banks, and their lone third-round OL is rookie Dominick Puni.

They also finagled Trent Williams away from Washington on Day 3 of the 2020 draft for a fifth-round pick and a future third-round selection.

Beyond that they’ve signed lower-cost veterans and shelled out late-round draft capital to address those needs.

While the OL hasn’t been perfect, particularly against the likes of Aaron Donald and Chris Jones in big games, they’ve been good enough to get the 49ers to four NFC title games and two Super Bowls in Shanahan’s seven years as head coach.

It’ll be interesting to see how San Francisco operates once Williams decides to retire. Shanahan referenced his offensive line in Washington that had a ton of success, but Williams anchored that patchwork group. He was the No. 4 overall pick.

The 49ers aren’t liable to be picking that high any time soon, which begs the question of how they’ll address a Hall of Fame sized hole at the most important position on the OL. Perhaps Shanahan will alter course at that point and prioritize that spot. Or he could continue with his philosophy of just adding good players and letting his play calling and offensive playmakers make up for any deficiencies in the trenches.

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Brandon Aiyuk isn’t 49ers only WR contract to iron out

Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation has rightly gotten all the attention, but there’s another #49ers WR who still hasn’t signed a deal.

While the focus has rightly been heavily on Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation, the 49ers have another wide receiver contract to figure out. First-round pick Ricky Pearsall is the lone member of San Francisco’s 2024 draft class that hasn’t signed his rookie deal.

Ideally rookies would be signed well before camp to ensure they’re in every practice leading up to the start of the regular season, but it’s also not a huge deal yet that Pearsall’s deal isn’t totally ironed out.

Given the new rookie scale there isn’t any negotiation over years and dollars on the deal. All there is to figure out is minutiae of the contract language which is usually a formality. It can get a little sticky though, especially when San Francisco is also trying to get a long-term extension done with Aiyuk.

For Pearsall there’s no real concern that he’s going to hold out. However, if he hasn’t put pen to paper on his rookie contract by the time camp starts he runs the risk of missing valuable practice reps. The No. 31 overall pick doesn’t figure to be a starter in Year 1, but he should have a chance to factor in as a third or fourth wide receiver when the entire receiving corps is healthy.

He got off to a strong start in OTAs and mandatory minicamp which will help him hit the ground running in camp. Continuing his ascension once things get serious in late July and early August is going to be essential. Pearsall won’t be able to do that if he’s not on the field.

Rookies are slated to report to camp on July 16,  a week before veterans are scheduled to arrive on July 23. That gives Pearsall and his agent some time to hammer out that deal before the real practices start. As long as he has a contract by Day 1 of camp then everything should be fine. If he starts missing vital practice reps though there could be a larger problem. This will be something to keep a close eye on as the rookie reporting date approaches.

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49ers OL coach would rather draft skill position players than O-linemen

Should the 49ers use early draft picks on OL? Even their OL coach says no.

The 49ers haven’t done much to prioritize the offensive line in the draft since head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived in 2017.

They added right tackle Mike McGlinchey in the first round of the 2018 draft, and in 2021 they used a second-round pick on left guard Aaron Banks. Those are the only two picks in the first two rounds they’ve used on offensive linemen, and offensive line coach Chris Foerster shed some light on that philosophy when he spoke with reporters after Wednesday’s OTA session.

Transcription via the 49ers:

This is my personal opinion, if they ask me, invest in guys that touch the ball, guys that can touch the ball and score touchdowns. And then there’s a range of guys, second, third, fourth round, fifth round even, that we will find starting offensive linemen in. At some point can you draft them? Yeah, you draft Trent Williams. You pick a draft where you’re getting a difference maker. But there’s guys that can make a difference, that touch the ball, well into the second, third, fourth rounds, or second and third rounds, at least. And definitely in the first round. That guy that touches the ball, it makes a huge difference in the game. The right guard makes a difference, we’ve talked about it before, but that’s where we’re able to find fourth and fifth round draft picks. How dominant is the difference between pick 34 versus pick 54, in offensive line play? And that’s what you’re trying to balance all the time. So, will we draft the best available player, all those types of things? Definitely will. And were we possibly ready to draft guys higher in the draft? Yes. But if there’s somebody that can touch the ball and make plays, in my opinion, if you ask me, ‘Chris, do you want him?’ I want the guy that touches the ball, for me. Because I think we can develop those players much more readily and have developed those players through the times because we do have specific things that we’re looking for. We know what we’re looking for through the course of time. That’s the advantage of being together with Kyle for so long that we kind of can pigeonhole these guys. Are we always right? Heck no, we’re not always right and nobody is on anything. Could you put five first rounders across the front? I don’t know that we have to, to have success.

This is a fascinating insight from Foerster that likely reflects part of San Francisco’s team-building philosophy. They’ve invested in free agent centers to try and find stability at that spot, and they replaced Joe Staley with Williams via trade during the 2020 draft. Beyond that they’ve been able to piece together really good offenses by investing in big-time playmakers and then working around deficiencies on the offensive line.

While it’s hard to argue with given their success at putting up points and yards under Shanahan, there’s a counterargument that says their Super Bowl hopes have been derailed by dominant defensive linemen in all five years that they’ve fallen just short of their goal.

Given Williams’ age we may see the 49ers make another big investment on the offensive line soon to shore up the left tackle spot, but beyond that don’t expect San Francisco to suddenly start using premium draft capital up front because even the offensive line coach doesn’t believe in doing so.

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Watch: All the highlights from new 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall

Watch all the highlights from the 49ers new WR Ricky Pearsall.

Following the first round of the NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers will be welcoming a new pass catcher to Santa Clara. With the No. 31 overall pick, John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers selected Ricky Pearsall out of Florida with the second to last pick in the first round.

In his final season at Florida, Pearsall notched 65 catches for 965 yards to go along with four touchdowns. Pearsall tacked on two rushing scores. Pearsall ended his final campaign in Gainsville with 1027 yards from scrimmage.

Prior to transferring to Florida for his final two seasons, Pearsall played at Arizona State and was teammates with current 49ers star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Pearsall has a flurry of highlights from his time in Florida, including a reception that was in the catch-of-the-year conversation. Watch all the highlights from the newest member of the 49ers via YouTube:

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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NFL draft: Could 49ers buck their recent trend at cornerback?

The 49ers picked CB Ahkello Witherspoon No. 66 overall in the 2017 draft. Since then the earliest they’ve taken a CB is 102 overall. It may be the year to change that trend:

It seems like every year heading into the NFL draft the 49ers have cornerback at or near the top of their list of needs. Most teams on some level need CB depth, but for San Francisco specifically they’re in a spot where they have plenty of bodies at the position with no real clarity on their long-term viability as NFL starters. This year they may need to make an investment in CB via the draft that they’ve never made before.

Typically the 49ers have taken an approach where they add bodies at CB and hope their pass rush lowers the bar enough for CB play that a few of the players in their large pool can rise up and clear that bar.

With their pass rush as the top priority under general manager John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, CBs have mostly gone by the wayside in terms of investment. Save for Charvarius Ward, the club hasn’t paid a big-name free agent to come in. They’ve selected eight CBs since the 2017 draft. That year they took Colorado CB Ahkello Witherspoon No. 66 overall. They’ve not used a pick earlier than 102 on a CB since then, and only three of the eight CBs were taken in the top 50.

NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah believes the 49ers are in a spot with this year’s draft that it may be time to buck that trend.

“They can continue to look at the corner position,” Jeremiah said Wednesday on a conference call. “I think, in a draft like this where they’re picking those picks at 63, 94, I think there’s opportunities there to get players that can come in in the secondary and help out and be a part of their mix right away.“

If the 49ers take a CB at No. 63 it would be the earliest they’ve taken one since 2017 and it would be the first time they used a pick earlier than Round 3.

While it may not fit their roster-building ethos, it may be the year to do it. The 49ers have a handful of needs they could conceivably address at 63 overall, particularly if they don’t take an offensive lineman in the first round. Finding a starting-caliber CB to put alongside Ward and Deommodore Lenoir should be at least a medium-priority task if there’s no player available who can bolster San Francisco’s pass rush.

Building depth this year in the draft is paramount for the 49ers, but so is finding some upgrades at a couple starting spots. Cornerback is one of those spots, and we may see the 49ers pursue a player at that spot earlier than they ever have under Lynch and Shanahan.

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4 players 49ers could trade up for in NFL draft

The #49ers could make a jump up in the first round of the draft to snag one of these offensive linemen:

The 49ers are in a potentially advantageous spot in this year’s draft despite not picking until No. 31 overall. Given their need on the offensive line, the depth in this year’s class, and the team’s sizable capital in this year’s draft, there’s a very real possibility San Francisco identifies a player they love earlier than No. 31 and make a jump up the board to snag them.

This has been something the 49ers haven’t been afraid to do in the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era. The trade ups don’t always work, but it’s clear when they identify a player they like they’re willing to expend draft picks to move up and snag them.

Here’s a look at a handful of offensive linemen typically going before the 49ers pick in mock drafts that they could wind up moving up to go get:

Tyrion Davis-Price exit underscores huge draft problem for 49ers

Ty Davis-Price’s exit underscores how bad things have gotten for the #49ers in the third round of the draft:

The 49ers on Tuesday said goodbye to another third-round pick. Tyrion Davis-Price after two seasons in San Francisco left to join the Philadelphia Eagles on a reserve/future contract. His departure is another confirmation of a failed third-round pick, something that’s become all-too-common in the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era.

Not that hitting on picks in the third-round is the key to good drafting. Finding good players anywhere in the draft is paramount, and the Shanahan-Lynch 49ers have been superb particularly in the later rounds finding viable starters and quality depth pieces. However, there’s still premium talent available later on Day 2 where San Francisco’s current front office has really struggled.

Take Davis-Price for instance. He was the second running back selected in the third-round by the 49ers in as many years. They took him in 2022 partly because RB Trey Sermon, their third-round pick from the year prior, struggled so much. Now both are gone before Sermon’s rookie contract is up.

It’s not just running backs though. Going back through the third-round picks in the Shanahan-Lynch tenure shows just how badly the team has missed in that portion of the draft, particularly over the last five years.

Let’s take a look at all 12 third-round picks in the seven drafts run by the Shanahan-Lynch duo, and then crunch some numbers to find out just how dire things are:

2024 NFL draft order: Where do 49ers pick?

The 49ers are back in the 1st round of the NFL draft after a 2-year hiatus. Here’s where they’ll pick:

The 49ers offseason is officially underway and their loss in Super Bowl LVIII officially cemented their place, once again, near the bottom of the first round of this year’s draft.

The good news for San Francisco is that they don’t have to relinquish that pick this year. After skipping the first round in 2022 and 2023 because of picks dealt in their 2021 trade up to the No. 3 pick, the 49ers are back in action with virtually their entire slate of selections in the 2024 draft.

Here’s a look at the 2024 draft order as it sits in the days following the end of the 2023 season:

Rookie Aaron Banks to enter starting RG competition

#49ers second-round pick Aaron Banks is working his way into the starting RG mix as that battle materializes.

Perhaps the 49ers’ biggest position battle has gone almost entirely unnoticed through the first portion of training camp. San Francisco is still in search of a starting right guard. Pads coming on finally gave the club a chance to begin assessing their options at that spot, and the race began to take shape Wednesday.

Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel spoke with reporters after practice and talked about the interior of the offensive line. Rookie second-round pick Aaron Banks has yet to run with the starting group, but McDaniel indicated his time is coming after second-year OL Colton McKivitz got some first-team reps Wednesday.

“We’ve been playing Tom Compton. We’ve been playing Dan Brunskill. We’ve been playing a lot of guys in there,” McDaniel said. “At some point we’ll put Banks in there and they’ll all compete so that they have equal opportunity to earn that job.”

Brunskill was the frontrunner for the job until San Francisco selected Banks No. 48 overall out of Notre Dame. So why did it take so long to get Banks into the rotation?

McDaniel said there was some refinement required in his transition to the 49ers’ scheme.

“He’s doing a good job really attacking the technique that we ask our linemen to do,” McDaniel said. “A lot of the stuff that we ask them to do is a little different than they’re used to. So he’s attacking it. But with that, you’ll jump off side sometimes. You’ll be a little sloppy in your technique because you’re not used to. He can’t turn his brain off right now before he goes and plays. So that’s something that we’re not really concerned about at all. It’s a natural progression that all players really go through.”

While Lance headlines the 49ers’ draft class and his success will ultimate define the entire draft for San Francisco, they need Banks to be good as well. If they used a second-round pick on a player that can’t win the starting RG job while their depth in the secondary remains questionable, it’d be a pretty damaging draft hiccup for the front office.

How Banks acclimates will be key in shoring up the interior of the 49ers’ offensive line, so while the quarterbacks are front and center, keep a close eye on Banks’ progress because he’ll play an important role for San Francisco regardless of who’s calling signals.