The 49ers’ hope of returning to the top of the NFC might hinge on the team continuing the trend of finding top-flight players after the first day of the NFL draft.
San Francisco owns 11 picks in next week’s 2025 NFL Draft, including eight within the top 160 selections. Next year, the 49ers are estimated to have three additional compensatory picks due to net free-agency losses.
“They have done as well as anybody outside the first round, finding not just starters but All-Pro, impact-caliber players,” said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah on a conference call with media members on Friday.
“So, to me, it seems like a pretty simple formula, where you want more shots at it than less, given their track record and their history.”
The 49ers’ drafts have been notorious for first-round flops, such as Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, Javon Kinlaw and Trey Lance. But they also found players like George Kittle, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Deommodore Lenoir and Brock Purdy in the third round or later.
The 49ers own the No. 11 overall selection in the draft. Their next pick is currently slated at No. 43 overall. Jeremiah said he believes San Francisco would be willing to move back if another team came calling for a trade possibility.
“I would not be surprised at all where they’re picking — they’re sitting there picking at No. 11 — if anybody wants to call and come up, I’d think they would be more than willing to slide back and get more picks and take more shots at it,” Jeremiah said.
The 49ers’ roster is undergoing a makeover this offseason. They parted ways with such starters as Deebo Samuel, Aaron Banks, Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward, Talanoa Hufanga, Javon Hargrave, Maliek Collins and Leonard Floyd.
“We have 11 draft choices, and we have to make them count,” general manager John Lynch said at the NFL Annual Meeting. “I think more so than in the recent past, there are slots we have to fill with those guys.”
The 49ers need significant contributions from their rookie class during the 2025 season.
“There’s the evaluating and projecting talent, which you could say has been a little up and down with them,” Jeremiah said. “But the other side of it is developing them once they get there. And I think they’re outstanding at doing that.”
Jeremiah said the return of Robert Saleh as defensive coordinator could pay off as the 49ers will look to get their first-year players ready to roll. San Francisco cut costs this offseason to get its salary cap in line for the future in anticipation of Brock Purdy signing a lucrative multi-year contract extension.
“I’m sure they’ll end up getting the Brock Purdy thing done before too long, and then it’s going to come down to the importance of them hitting on their draft picks,” Jeremiah said.
There is no better example than the Los Angeles Rams, who took a step back after winning Super Bowl LVI to cap the 2021 season.
“They’ve been stellar and really kind of flipped their roster from old to young really, really fast,” Jeremiah said.
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