It’s time to reflect on the San Francisco 49ers’ previous drafts again. Thanks to YouTube poster and 49ers fan Marvin49, we have videos of each draft. We’ll look at every year during the Kyle Shanahan era up to 2025. Today, it’s 2025.
Being one year removed from the 2025 draft means we can’t draw any major conclusions about whether this class will work out and usher in a new generation or be a massive disappointment. The good news is that this class had one of the better scenarios you could ask for. The 49ers have 11 picks here, and many of them produced at some point in the season. This will be a long one:
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As it commonly happens, injuries took their toll on the 2024 San Francisco 49ers. This led to them having the 11th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The 2024 season itself was rather disappointing, since the team that had gotten them to the Super Bowl the previous year was in their “last dance,” so to speak, and many thought they could make it back. That didn’t happen. Key players went down with injuries game after game, and as the weeks went by, the 49ers clearly just wanted to get through the season without further disaster than what they were already dealing with.
This team, the “Frustrating Disappointment,” as I called it (due to how much better that team should have been), had more than just injury problems. Realizing Steve Wilks wasn’t the answer, the 49ers went to Nick Sorensen as defensive coordinator. This proved to be even more of a disaster, as Sorensen had more head-scratching calls than Wilks. Injuries impacted the team, sure, but the 49ers also just couldn’t get out of their own way, committing penalties at the absolute worst times, or calling a terrible coverage and letting quarterbacks strut into the endzone from 20 yards.
So that’s how we got here. Before we discussed what happened on Draft Day, it’s important to note the season these youngsters would be in. See, the injuries weren’t much better in 2025. This wound up being a good thing in some ways. With many starters getting knocked out of games (or full seasons), this opened the door for the 2025 draft class (and the previous one) to get some playing time. Not only that, but the 12-5 season notched the 49ers a playoff berth. They would go on to win the wild card round against the Philadelphia Eagles. So a team running out of bodies, staying competitive, AND getting both this and last year’s draft classes playoff experience, along with a win? That is invaluable.
The injuries were frustrating, but if there’s any silver lining, it gave these guys playing time and situations they might not otherwise be in. Unfortunately, this would not benefit all the picks, as the injury bug also derailed their rookie seasons—or they simply couldn’t take advantage of their opportunity.
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Which brings us to the first pick: The 49ers began things by taking Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams. Williams had the right attitude, a decent resume (40 games, 67 tackles, 14 sacks, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery), and played through a grade 2 high ankle sprain. If you can’t figure out the injury issue, at least have players who can play through it, I suppose. Williams was an upgrade to a very bad 49ers run defense and was speculated to have a role similar to that of former defensive lineman Arik Armstead; Williams was seen as someone who could move around the line based on what offenses were showing. There were rookie mistakes, but you saw improvement every week. That is, until he tore his ACL in November. The 49ers’ first-round pick, on his own after Nick Bosa suffered the same injury a month or so earlier, was on the shelf.
Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins went in the second round, and boy, did he show something. The guy isn’t a completed project either— and he knows it. Collins started just one game, but was in 16. He finished with one sack, 17 tackles, and two fumbles. Oh, and two fumble recoveries. One of those fumbles that he recovered is probably the play that defines his rookie season: the Rams fumble force and recovery. On the goalline facing the Los Angeles Rams in Los Angeles, Collins punched a ball out and saved the 49ers from certain doom. If he is still working on things, we can enjoy where this is headed.
The first third-round pick was Oklahoma State linebacker Nick Martin. With a vacancy after Dre Greenlaw departed in free agency and Fred Warner going down early in the season with a foot injury, it seemed like Martin might get some playing time. That didn’t happen. Martin saw some playing time, but it wasn’t anything to indicate improvement. If there was any development, it wasn’t going to be seen in 2025, as the 49ers placed him on season-ending injured reserve after a concussion. Martin played in seven games, mostly on special teams, but he has a forced fumble to his name.
Also in the third round is Western Kentucky cornerback Upton Stout. In training camp, Chase Lucas was the talk of the nickel corner. Upton Stout ended up getting ahead of Lucas on the depth chart, playing in 16 games and starting in four of them. There were struggles during the season, but Lucas is no longer on the team. Stout may or may not be the answer, but the 49ers were playing the better guy last year. Stout had 43 tackles, one sack, five passes defended, and a forced fumble. I’ll take that for a rookie any day. It wasn’t pretty, but he’s one of those guys benefiting from getting fed to the wolves, so to speak. Stout finished playing in 16 games and started in four of them.
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Now we go to the fourth round, and it’s a bit painful. First, we have CJ West, a defensive tackle out of Indiana. 14 games, no starts, and a line so bad at getting to the quarterback, an opportunity had to be there. Or people in front of him were better.
With Jordan Watkins, an Ole Miss wide receiver, there were at least SOME good things to go on for Year 2. Well, things seen in the preseason, but Watkins didn’t come off the bench much in the regular season. Sure, we were privy to some good stuff, but we also have to tell ourselves it was good stuff in the preseason. Kyle Shanahan said there was an injury in the preseason that put him behind. Watkins played in four games, getting two receptions for 26 yards. It would be a nice problem to have if Watkins blew up this year alongside Ricky Pearsall and Mike Evans.
The 49ers were supposed to have three fifth-round picks, but that turned into two. One fifth-round selection was forfeited. Why, you ask? Paperwork. Some sort of administrative accounting error that cost them a fifth-round pick. As for the offense, it’s something to do with the salary cap and the wrong button getting pressed on a calculator.
With two picks left, they started with Oregon running back Jordan James. If Isaac Guerendo wasn’t seeing the field, it wasn’t because of James, because James has shown even less than Guerrendo. The 49ers had Christian McCaffrey, but with all the running backs they’ve taken (four of the last five drafts) they still don’t have an answer behind him.
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Back to picks that showed us something in 2025, we have Marques Sigle, the 49ers’ second fifth-rounder. Sigle was fed to the wolves, so to speak, early. He has some coverage issues, but there are positives as well. Remember that Rams game we were talking about with Alfred Collins getting the fumble? Well, later on in overtime, Sigle was one of the players who helped make a major stop on 4th-and-1 to seal the win. As the season wore on, Sigle saw less time as Malik Mustapha and Ji’Ayir Brown solidified their roles. But then the playoffs happened, and Sigle came in for an injured Brown during the Eagles’ wild-card game. Sigle had a huge pass breakup in the game, and the sky’s the limit for year 2.
In the sixth round, the 49ers took Kurtis Rourke at quarterback. And Rourke was basically a redshirt for 2025. The 49ers opened their practice window in December. He might be the answer for when Mac Jones departs in 2027.
The offensive line got some attention in the seventh round, with Iowa guard Connor Colby fitting the bill. Colby showed improvement—especially when he had a stretch of six starts—but those starts and improvement didn’t amount to enough to lock down a starting role. After his sixth start, Colby saw limited action. Not every seventh-round pick can light things up as a rookie. Then again, Nick Zakelj wasn’t much of a step up.
Finally, through this gauntlet of picks, we have Junior Bergen, a wide receiver out of Montana. Unfortunately, Bergan was waived in the roster cuts and is currently on a futures contract.
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Sure, there are some hits and misses, but the sheer potential of this class cannot be overstated. Many of these picks were put into a great situation in 2025—and, with coaching, helped take the 49ers much further than many expected despite all the injuries to the stars.
It’s only one year, so there’s still room for improvement. Maybe Williams comes back with a vengeance, Collins builds on his solid rookie campaign, and Colby shows enough that a starting role will come with more time.
Make room for the rookies. The 2026 class is en route.
Pick Breakdown
Round 1 – No. 11 – Mykel Williams, DE, Georgia
Round 2 – No. 43 – Alfred Collins, DT, Texas
Round 3 – No. 75- Nick Martin, LB, Oklahoma State
Round 3 – No. 100- Upton Stout, CB, Western Kentucky
Round 4 – No. 113- CJ West, DT, Indiana
Round 4 – No. 138 – Jordan Watkins, WR, Ole Miss
Round 5 – No. 147 – Jordan James, RB, Oregon
Round 5 – No. 160 -Marques Sigle, S, Kansas State
Round 6 – No. 227 – Kurtis Rourke, QB, Indiana
Round 7 – No. 249 – Connor Colby, G, Iowa
Round 7 – No. 252 – Junior Bergen, WR, Montana
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