What do the 49ers’ free agency moves tell us about their draft plans?
· Yahoo Sports
In a month’s time, the 49ers will have rounded off another extremely important draft as they look to return to seriously contending for the Super Bowl.
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San Francisco has received praise for its efforts in boosting the roster so far this offseason, with the Niners attacking needs via free agency and what looks an astute trade for defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa.
Aside from some possible moves on the margins, the 49ers are done in terms of free agency, but what does their approach in the first phase of the offseason tell us about what they might do in the draft?
There are several things we can glean from their signings to this point with the draft under four weeks away.
Familiar positions in Round 1 focus
It generally hasn’t been difficult to predict what the 49ers are going to do in the first round of drafts during the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era. Five of their seven first-round selections since 2017 have been spent on either the defensive line or the wide receiver position. The two exceptions came in 2018 when the Niners selected tackle Mike McGlinchey and, more famously, in 2021 with the trade up for quarterback Trey Lance.
In their nine drafts to this point. The only other instance of the 49ers spending their highest selection on another position was in 2023 when they used a third-rounder on safety Ji’Ayir Brown. Their highest pick in 2022 was in the second round, with which they took edge rusher Drake Jackson.
And, after an offseason in which the 49ers saw Bryce Huff retire and allowed the likes of Yetur Gross-Matos and Robert Beal Jr. to walk, the odds of pick 27 being spent on an edge rusher have increased significantly.
Yet, despite investing heavily in wide receiver in free agency, a selection that sees the 49ers make a long-term investment in the passing game can also not be ruled out.
Mike Evans’ three-year contract contains no guaranteed money after this year, while Christian Kirk’s one-year, $6 million deal should not preclude San Francisco from adding a pass-catcher whom they can develop alongside Ricky Pearsall. The focus the 49ers have shown on receivers with their top-30 visits to this point reflect that.
Under a month out from the draft, it would be a shock if San Francisco’s first-round pick is not a defensive lineman or a receiver.
A trade back is in play
That the 49ers were willing to be aggressive in the trade market this offseason was no surprise.
Indeed, under Lynch and Shanahan, the 49ers have rarely been afraid to part with draft capital if it can improve the roster.
They did just that by sending a third-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for Odighizuwa, significantly boosting the interior pass rush.
But the other side of that move is that the 49ers have only six picks in the draft, albeit with all of them inside the top 150 selections.
Still, the holes on the 49ers’ roster are such that they could probably use more than six selections. It may not happen with their first-rounder but, given their tendency to move around the board, a trade down to amass more picks now appears a distinct possibility.
Shanahan’s draft tradition set to continue
The 49ers have, to this point in the offseason, neglected to bolster their depth chart at running back, with Brian Robinson Jr. allowed to walk in free agency a year after they traded for his services.
San Francisco being unwilling to spend cap space on a backup running back is not a surprise, but it clears the way for the 49ers to continue a Kyle Shanahan draft tradition.
While the 49ers have a superstar in Christian McCaffrey who has won Offensive Player of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year in the last three seasons, they cannot ignore the mileage that has been put on his body.
The 49ers need to be able to spell McCaffrey effectively to give him consistent rest.
Right now, the players behind him on the depth chart are Jordan James, Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor.
Taylor is a non-factor in terms of his potential to take snaps off McCaffrey, while James did not see any regular-season snaps last year before finally receiving carries in the 49ers’ blowout divisional round loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Guerendo, meanwhile, did not have a single carry in 2025 after impressing in 2024.
Under Shanahan, the 49ers have become renowned for spending surprisingly high picks on backs and, with the options behind McCaffrey having seemingly failed to earn the head coach’s trust, it would be fair to expect him to take another swing at that position this year.
Needs that could be ignored
The limited number of selections in the draft raise the possibility that a couple of positions that most view as needs for the 49ers may go unaddressed.
Safety is a position where the 49ers have struggled to find consistency but, even in a draft in which there are some compelling first-round options, it is difficult foresee San Francisco prioritizing it ahead of edge rusher and wide receiver.
Having spent multiple mid-round picks on safety on recent years, doing so again is unlikely to be viewed as a satisfactory solution to the 49ers’ problems at that spot. After neglecting to add a veteran in free agency, the likelihood right now looks to be that the 49ers will continue to ride with Malik Mustapha, Ji’Ayir Brown and Marques Sigle as their safety options.
Similar to safety, tight end has been a persistent issue for the Niners, at least in terms of the depth behind George Kittle.
The backup tight end problem seemed to have become a more pressing one after Kittle went down with a torn Achilles in the wild-card round win over the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Niners’ only move at tight end so far has has been to sign Jake Tonges to a new two-year deal.
Barring an extremely impressive recovery from Kittle, Tonges would be the starter Week 1 in Melbourne as it stands and, with edge and receiver seemingly the focus of this draft for the 49ers, San Francisco acquiring a rookie who can change that is an unlikely prospect.
Simply put, unless Kenyon Sadiq falls into their lap with pick 27, it’s fair to expect the 49ers to put their faith in Tonges to replicate his 2025 production while waiting for Kittle to return and provide an in-season boost to the position.