SF HAS KNACK FOR FINDING GEMS IN LATER ROUNDS
Kittle, Warner are longest-tenured picks left on the 49ers roster
Ten draft picks await the 49ers this week. If they use them all, that would equal their largest draft class since 2017, when coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived to rebuild the franchise into a perennial contender.
Yes, they have a first-round pick to use for the first time since their 2021 Trey Lance boondoggle, but, if you dig deeper into who is on this roster, middleround selections abound. Of the 75 players on the roster — 15 vacancies exist for the draft and its aftermath — that includes 52 players who were drafted into the NFL, 31 by this 49ers' regime.
“You always have to make sure the draft is a lifeblood. That's the only way to make sure to have sustained success,” 49ers CEO Jed York said at last month's NFL meetings. “We made a decision (in 2021) to invest three first-round picks in a quarterback that didn't turn out to be the right choice. We got very lucky and very fortunate that a guy we drafted in the seventh round (Brock Purdy, 2022) made up for that.”
Only five players on the current roster hail from the first round, with Nick Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk the only homegrown of that bunch. Only four players came from the second round. Among the 23 undrafted players on their roster is Pro Bowl cornerback Charvarius Ward, who initially signed with the 2018 Dallas Cowboys.
There are 31 of 58 draft picks remaining since 2017, including one apiece from 2017 (George Kittle; fifth round) and 2018 (Fred Warner; third round).
Of their 22 projected starters on offense and defense, just 12 were drafted by the 49ers, seven were signed through free agency, and three arrived via trades, including running back Christian McCaffrey, left tackle Trent Williams and defensive tackle Maliek Collins.
“You always supplement through free agency, and you supplement through trades, but you have to continue to build your team through the draft,” York added. “You have to do well with those draft picks. You always have to do well. Doing well doesn't mean all 10 of those guys make your roster and they're all starters. You have to make sure you're getting guys like George Kittle, like Dre (Greenlaw), like Fred (Warner), that are not firstround guys but good guys who
have impact deeper in the round.”
Here is a round-by-round look at the 49ers' pre-draft roster:
First round
Left tackle Trent Williams (2010, Washington; No. 10)
Defensive end Leonard Floyd (2016, Bears; No. 9)
Running back Christian McCaffrey (2017, Panthers; No. 8)
Defensive end Nick Bosa (2019; No. 2)
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (2020; No. 25)
Analysis: The 49ers hold a first-round reservation after a two-year hiatus, and, as reflected by those in this group, they certainly could go after another offensive tackle, defensive end or wide receiver. First-round picks who haven't stuck under this regime: defensive tackle Solomon Thomas (2017, No. 3), linebacker Reuben Foster (2017, No. 31), right tackle Mike McGlinchey (2018, No. 9), defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (2020; No. 14), and quarterback Trey Lance (2021, No. 3).