Tag: 49ers NFL draft

1 big offensive adjustment 49ers must make in final 3 games of 2024 season

It’s Ricky Pearsall time.

With the postseason all but out of their grasp, the San Francisco 49ers can now start operating with the 2025 season in mind.

That doesn’t mean the dreaded ‘tank’ where the team tries losing games to improve its draft position. It does mean they should be looking to see exactly what they have with some of the players on their roster in the final three games.

One key adjustment they need to make while turning their sights toward 2025 and beyond is getting first-round wide receiver Ricky Pearsall more involved in the offense.

Pearsall this season has 24 targets in eight games, but after earning six targets in Week 10, he has only nine targets in the five games since. Overall he’s turned his opportunities into 13 catches for 153 yards and one touchdown.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday told reporters he’s happy with the rookie now that he’s getting a regular chance to play and practice.

“I think Ricky’s doing a hell of a job,” Shanahan said. “I know everyone talks about the gunshot wound, but what people don’t realize is, I think I said a couple weeks ago, but he only had three practices before that gunshot wound. He missed all OTAs and all of training camp and then to get that gunshot basically went from Florida to us halfway through the season. So, I thought he did a hell of a job coming back from that, trying to learn and practice as he goes. He’s been banged up a little bit, started in Green Bay. I think he’s fought through that here the last couple weeks. I thought he did some real good stuff on tape last week. He had a couple big catches. I think he’s going the right direction and hope it keeps improving here these next three games.”

One way to ensure he’s improving is trying to get him the ball more often. In that Week 10 game where he had six targets, Pearsall hauled in four of them for 73 yards and a touchdown. His absence from the offense may just be a result of the injury issues Shanahan mentioned, but that’s something they need to resolve before the season ends.

Pearsall is a key piece of their receiving corps in the future and ironing out a more accurate trajectory for his immediate future will play a significant role in how the 49ers should operate in the offseason.

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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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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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2021 NFL Draft: San Francisco 49ers Pre-Draft Analysis, Needs, Mock Draft Picks

2021 NFL Draft: From the college perspective, San Francisco 49ers pre-draft analysis, team needs, mock draft picks, and what they need to do

2021 NFL Draft: From the college perspective, San Francisco 49ers pre-draft analysis, team needs, mock draft picks, and what they need to do.

San Francisco 49ers 2021 NFL Draft Analysis

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CFN 2021 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
from the college perspective …
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG & C
DE & Edge | DT | LB | CB | Safeties
Top 105 2021 NFL Draft Prospects

You don’t move heaven and earth to get up to the 3 if you don’t know who you want. If you don’t know who you want, and you take a quarterback, that means the quarterbacks you have weren’t going to work no matter what. So …

Of course the 49ers know who they want. They might be playing coy, because that’s what the silly NFL people like to do, but again, you don’t do that just to take a position. You do that to get a specific player.

But the 49ers need cornerback help, too. Getting their pick of the non-Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson quarterbacks is nice, and still having the 43rd overall pick is great, too. That’s where the cornerback comes into play – there will be several good options there.

They’ll make the most noise early on after they pick at the 3, and with three fifth-rounders and five picks after their fourth round selection at the 117, they’re going to be active. At the very least, they should be. They can and should package a slew of those picks to potentially move up to get an extra pick somewhere in the top 125.

San Francisco 49ers 2021 NFL Draft Analysis: Mock Draft Picks

Before all the trades and craziness changes it up, here’s our guess on the San Francisco 49ers 2 Round NFL Mock Draft early picks.

1: (3) QB Mac Jones, Alabama
2: (43) CB Eric Stokes, Georgia

San Francisco 49ers 2021 NFL Draft Analysis: 2021 NFL Draft Picks

1: 3 (from Texans from Dolphins)
2: 43
3: 102
4: 117
5: 155
5: 172 (from Saints)
5: 180
6: 194
7: 230 (from Jets)

San Francisco 49ers 2021 NFL Draft Analysis: 2020 NFL Draft Picks

1 DT Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina
1 WR Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona State
5 OT Colton McKivitz, West Virginia
6 TE Charlie Woerner, Georgia
7 WR Jauan Jennings, Tennessee

CFN 2021 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
from the college perspective …
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG & C
DE & Edge | DT | LB | CB | Safeties
Top 105 2021 NFL Draft Prospects
2 Round NFL Mock Draft
Greatest Draft Picks For Each College
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
32 Greatest Draft Picks of All-Time
2022 Top 32 Pro Prospects | By Position

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49ers add pair of 3rd-round picks after Robert Saleh joins Jets as head coach

The 49ers earned a pair of third-round compensatory picks since Robert Saleh was hired as a head coach.

The 49ers lost defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to the New York Jets, but they gained a couple of draft picks in the process.

Thanks to the Rooney Rule revision aimed at incentivizing teams to develop minority head coach and front office candidates, San Francisco will get compensatory third-round picks in the 2021 and 2022 drafts with Saleh taking the Jets head coaching position.

The 49ers traded their own third-round pick on Day 3 of the 2020 draft in the deal that landed them left tackle Trent Williams. Now they’ll recoup that third-round selection to give them at least one in every round.

Exactly when that pick will come is yet to be revealed. There are other coaching hires to be made and teams will receive compensatory picks for last offseason’s free agency as well. Six teams are slated to get third-round comp picks according to Over the Cap.

Here’s an updated look at San Francisco’s selections:

Round 1, Pick 12
Round 2, Pick 44
Round 3, Compensatory
Round 4, Pick 114
Round 5, Pick 153
Round 5, Pick 170 (via NO)
Round 6, Pick 191
Round 7, Pick 225 (via NYJ)
Round 7, Pick 235 

Twitter reacts as 49ers take Georgia TE Charlie Woerner

The San Francisco 49ers took Georgia football TE Charlie Woerner in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Here is the Twitter reactions.

On Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers selected Georgia tight end Charlie Woerner with the 190th overall pick in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.

It came as a bit of a surprise, as Woerner was viewed as a guy who was likely to go undrafted, but the 49ers took a shot on the former four-star out of Rabun County in Tiger, Georgia.

From 2016-2019, Woerner caught 34 passes from Jake Fromm. He tallied 376 yards and scored his lone touchdown last season against Georgia Tech.

He is primarily a run blocking tight end who is not afraid to get physical as you’ll see below.

Woerner is the nephew of former Georgia All-American defensive back Scott Woerner.

Here are some Twitter reactions to San Francisco taking the 6-foot-5, 245 pound Woerner:

49ers select Georgia TE Charlie Woerner in sixth round of NFL Draft

The San Francisco 49ers took Georgia football TE Charlie Woerner in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

With the 190th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the San Francisco selected former Georgia tight end Charlie Woerner.

Woerner had to wait until the sixth round to hear his name called, but it did come as a pleasant surprise as he was seen as a guy who could have fallen out of the draft altogether.

Woerner (6-foot-5 245 pounds) came to Georgia as a four-star tight end in the class of 2016 out of Rabun County High School in Tiger, Georgia.

From 2016-2019, Woerner caught 34 passes from Jake Fromm. He tallied 376 yards and scored his lone touchdown last season against Georgia Tech.

Other than George Kittle, the 49ers don’t have much talent at the tight end position, so Woerner could come in and compete for that TE2 spot.

Woerner is the nephew of former Georgia All-American defensive back Scott Woerner.

 

Two Bulldogs go in first round of NFL mock draft

Two Georgia Bulldogs are drafted in the first round of a 2020 NFL Mock Draft. Andrew Thomas ends up in Tampa. Isaiah Wilson is a 49er.

Two Georgia Bulldogs went in Bleacher Report’s first round NFL mock draft. The first round of the 2020 NFL Draft starts Thursday, April 23rd at 8:00 PM. The NFL Draft is anticipated to last until around midnight.

B/R has Georgia’s Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson as first round picks.

Andrew Thomas lands with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he’s projected to block for former New England Patriots QB Tom Brady. Thomas is the fourth offensive tackle drafted in this mock. The 14th overall pick is too high for Thomas to still be on the board. He should be gone before then based on his on-field production, his consistency, and his well-defined technique.

Isaiah Wilson ends up as the sixth tackle drafted. He lands with the San Francisco 49ers at the 31st pick of the first round. Wilson has received recent buzz as a first round pick. The 49ers have a lot of talent and would be an excellent fit for Wilson. Their effective rushing attack helped them coast through the NFC to the Super Bowl last season.

Surprisingly, D’Andre Swift doesn’t go in the first round of this mock draft. LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the only running back selected in the first round, but he barely sneaks into the first as 32nd pick (Kansas City Chiefs).

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Ranking 49ers 1st-round picks since 2000

The 49ers have had some nice hits, and some bad misses with their first-round picks since 2000.

While picking in the first round gives a team the best chance at securing a top player from that year’s draft, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to nab a surefire talent.

The 49ers own a pick in the first round this season, but there’s a strong possibility they wind up trading back from the No. 31 pick to secure more assets later in the draft.

Before the 2020 draft, we went back through the 49ers’ last 20 years of first-round picks and ranked them in order from worst to best. The spread is pretty interesting, ranging from full-blown busts to eventual Hall of Famers.

26-21

Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

26. WR AJ Jenkins | 2012 | Pick 30

The 49ers badly needed some wide receiver help going into the 2012 season. Jenkins didn’t provide it. He played in three games with one target and no catches before getting traded in his first offseason.

25. DL Kentwan Balmer | 2008 | Pick 29

Jenkins’ short three-game stint only thing saving Balmer from landing at the bottom of the list. He played in 27 games across two seasons with no sacks, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit. He went on to play for Seattle and Washington but was never a productive player.

24. WR Rashaun Woods | 2004 | Pick 31

Woods is on just about every list of all-time first-round busts, but he sneaks in ahead of Jenkins and Balmer despite playing just one season in the NFL. The Oklahoma State product’s physical style didn’t translate at the pro level. He caught seven balls for 160 yards, one touchdown and five first downs in his lone season.

23. OL Joshua Garnett | 2016 | Pick 28

The 49ers traded back into the first round in general manager Trent Baalke’s final draft to select Garnett. The oft-injured Stanford product never got his feet under him in San Francisco, starting 11 of the 22 games he played in across three seasons.

22. OL Kwame Harris | 2003 | Pick 26

Harris played five seasons with the 49ers and started 44 of his 72 games at various spots on the offensive line. A first-round tackle should typically be a solid, long-term starter. Harris never quite developed into that and struggled when he did play.

21. CB Mike Rumph | 2002 | Pick 27

While Rumph did play four seasons in a 49ers uniform, he played just 36 games with 19 starts, and was never particularly productive. He had three interceptions and 14 pass breakups with 2.0 sacks in his career with San Francisco.

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