Every year, I get emotional heading into the draft. Every year, it would be so easy for John Lynch to make my weekend great.
And of course, every year, I am disappointed, or at least disappointed at some point.
This year turned out pretty well, though. If the goal is to come out of the draft better than when you went in, the 49ers accomplished that, at least on the defensive side of the ball.
And while there was one pick I thought ill-advised (read: boneheaded), it was late in the draft. We aren't talking the kind of idiocy that led Carmen Policy and George Seifert to draft Israel Ifeanyi with their first pick in 1996 (a 2nd rounder because of the trade up to draft JJ Stokes the preceding year—you can tell I'm still traumatized). Or the delusional stupor that led them to select Jim Druckenmiller to be the quarterback of the future the following year against the advice of Bill Walsh, who lobbied for Jake Plummer. Lynch and Kyle Shanahan did not even opt for the equivalent of Rashaun Woods.
No, overall, the Niners went into this draft with a focused goal—making damn sure the run D was back at the level of the best Robert Saleh-led defenses—and stayed true to that. Their first pick, Mykel Williams, is all projection as a pass rusher, but one thing everyone, everyone, agrees on is that he is a beast against the run.
In rounds 2 and 4, they picked up two defensive tackles who are stout in the trenches. I have seen complaints that Alfred Collins, the second-round pick (and one I love), doesn't offer much pass rush upside, to which I say, "Not many DTs do. He's a run stuffer, and a very good one." And while Collins might not produce many sacks of his own, I am sure Nick Bosa is very happy because if the 49ers stuff the run, there will be a lot more 3rd-and-longs, which is right where Nick likes it.
The cornerback Lynch took, Upton Stout, is very much in the K'Waun Williams mold, one of the last good slot corners the 49ers have had. Linebacker Nick Martin is considered undersized at 221 pounds, but he'll add at least 5 pounds in the weight room, and the team's All-World linebacker, Fred Warner, and its newly-departed Dre Greenlaw, now with the Broncos, are both on the smaller size at 230 pounds.
Nick Wagoner of ESPN provides an excellent analysis of the effect Robert Saleh had on San Francisco's selections. And while I still feel the 49ers should have strayed from such a laser focus on the defense and picked up an offensive lineman with one of their first five picks, I have some hope for the offense if the defense can keep getting the ball back and in good field position.
And I find it interesting that after all of the pronouncements that the team's Super Bowl window has slammed shut, all of the way-too-early 2026 mock drafts have the 49ers picking in the late 20s.
That is to say, in the playoffs and contending for the big prize. I hope they're right.
Except I'd prefer the 49ers to be choosing a little later. The pick that begins with a 3 and is followed by a 2. Let's go, Niners!