DL: 2026 Draft Class

I think David Bailey is one of the most overrated prospects this cycle. I'll be ready to eat my words if I'm wrong, but he is poor against the run, and plays wild/uncontrolled showing me inconsistency in terms of having any pass rush plan.

Overall, the tools are there, but I also hate that he got annihilated by a lot of the top competition he faced.

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
As much as I like Gill Howard, I want a guy that's not gonna get destroyed by duo blocks.

IMO if we have a chance at someone like McDonald, we might just let Collins and West rotate at 3T. They have the beef and may be better suited there if we can get a legit nose who can also pass rush.

TBH I think we need to double dip at both DE, and DT in this class.

Agreed. I really like McDonald but I don't think he will be there at 27. If he is that's who I want.

I really like Lee Hunter. He is very similar to McDonald. Probably not as stout vs the run but he offers more pop as a pass rusher.

I want Kayden McDonald or Lee Hunter at 27 and Gracen Halton at 2.58. Double dip in the draft.

Then sign a couple vets like Joey Bosa and David Onyemata

Base D:
DE- Mykel Williams
NT- Kayden McDonald
3T- Alfred Collins
DE- Nick Bosa

Nickle D:
DE- Joey Bosa
5T- Mykel Williams
3T- Gracen Halton
DE- Nick Bosa

Depth:
David Onyemata
Keion White
Sam Okuayinonu

If we didnt have essentially zero receiver talent id be all on board with McDonald/Hunter and Halten.

So while I prefer I small trade back from 27 to land us another top 100 pick and take Omar Cooper Jr and Ted Hurst with our first two picks....that being said I wouldn't complain with your scenario as I really like the players/combination and would be stoked about it.

There are other really good penetrating DT we can get in the 4th round (Durant/Robinson/Corleone) and WR talent will have long dried up by then so I still like grabbing the top talent at WR first.

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
If we didnt have essentially zero receiver talent id be all on board with McDonald/Hunter and Halten.

So while I prefer I small trade back from 27 to land us another top 100 pick and take Omar Cooper Jr and Ted Hurst with our first two picks....that being said I wouldn't complain with your scenario as I really like the players/combination and would be stoked about it.

There are other really good penetrating DT we can get in the 4th round (Durant/Robinson/Corleone) and WR talent will have long dried up by then so I still like grabbing the top talent at WR first.

Agreed on all points.

As for receiver, I'm hoping we sign a guy: Mike Evans, Alec Pierce, Romeo Dobbs and a TE like Kyle Pitts (if he isn't franchised), Isaiah Likely or David Njoku AND then use Mac Jones as trade bait for another WR like Jordan Addison or Garrett Wilson or for a 2nd round pick to get a guy like Omar Cooper or Elijah Surratt

Sign:

WR- Romeo Doubs 3 years, 45 mil
OG- Zion Johnson 3 years, 39 mi
DE- Joey Bosa 1 year, 10 mil
TE- David Njoku 1 year, 5 mil

Trade Mac Jones Minnesota for 2.49

#27 rankings:
1- Denzel Boston
2- Kenyon Sadiq
3- Kayden McDonald
4- KC Conception
5- Lee Hunter

DRAFT:

1.27- Kayden McDonald, NT- OSU
2.49- Omar Cooper, WR- Indiana
2.58- Gracen Halton, DT- Oklahoma
3.92- Chandler Rivers, CB- Duke

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
If we didnt have essentially zero receiver talent id be all on board with McDonald/Hunter and Halten.

So while I prefer I small trade back from 27 to land us another top 100 pick and take Omar Cooper Jr and Ted Hurst with our first two picks....that being said I wouldn't complain with your scenario as I really like the players/combination and would be stoked about it.

There are other really good penetrating DT we can get in the 4th round (Durant/Robinson/Corleone) and WR talent will have long dried up by then so I still like grabbing the top talent at WR first.

Agreed on all points.

As for receiver, I'm hoping we sign a guy: Mike Evans, Alec Pierce, Romeo Dobbs and a TE like Kyle Pitts (if he isn't franchised), Isaiah Likely or David Njoku AND then use Mac Jones as trade bait for another WR like Jordan Addison or Garrett Wilson or for a 2nd round pick to get a guy like Omar Cooper or Elijah Surratt

Sign:

WR- Romeo Doubs 3 years, 45 mil
OG- Zion Johnson 3 years, 39 mi
DE- Joey Bosa 1 year, 10 mil
TE- David Njoku 1 year, 5 mil

Trade Mac Jones Minnesota for 2.49

#27 rankings:
1- Denzel Boston
2- Kenyon Sadiq
3- Kayden McDonald
4- KC Conception
5- Lee Hunter

DRAFT:

1.27- Kayden McDonald, NT- OSU
2.49- Omar Cooper, WR- Indiana
2.58- Gracen Halton, DT- Oklahoma
3.92- Chandler Rivers, CB- Duke

thats what im hoping for FA if we get 2 of those guys (Doubbs, Evans, Pierce, Brown at WR and Njoku and Pitts at TE), that will allow us to not force us to go WR early. I would really love to build the DL like you said as DL is very likely to be BPA at 27. I really like Hunter, Parker or Mesidor at 27.

I like McDonald and i think having that Collins and McDonald in the interior would make it almost impossible to run in middle on us but i dont think he brings us enough juice as a pass rusher which i think i would prefer Hunter he has a bit more length and is a bit more explosive. He also wont bring much pass rushing juice but slightly more than McDonald.

I really think there will be value in having an elite DL that can stop the run and forcing teams into 3rd and long and making them more 1 dimensional we will see more TO and INT that way. Another reason i also really want a ball hawking S

Originally posted by ritz126:
thats what im hoping for FA if we get 2 of those guys (Doubbs, Evans, Pierce, Brown at WR and Njoku and Pitts at TE), that will allow us to not force us to go WR early. I would really love to build the DL like you said as DL is very likely to be BPA at 27. I really like Hunter, Parker or Mesidor at 27.

I like McDonald and i think having that Collins and McDonald in the interior would make it almost impossible to run in middle on us but i dont think he brings us enough juice as a pass rusher which i think i would prefer Hunter he has a bit more length and is a bit more explosive. He also wont bring much pass rushing juice but slightly more than McDonald.

I really think there will be value in having an elite DL that can stop the run and forcing teams into 3rd and long and making them more 1 dimensional we will see more TO and INT that way. Another reason i also really want a ball hawking S

McDonald is about to turn 21. Hunter is about to turn 24. McDonald is already the better run stopper. I wouldn't bet against him showing some improvement as a pass rusher given more time to develop.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
McDonald is about to turn 21. Hunter is about to turn 24. McDonald is already the better run stopper. I wouldn't bet against him showing some improvement as a pass rusher given more time to develop.

I'm going to be honest: I like what little I've seen of McDonald, but the entire DL room is filled with guys that need improve as pass rushers. The 49ers need guys that can get after the QB right now, not in the future. They were literally dead last in sacks and pressures last season.

The 49ers are better positioned to go after guys that are pass rushers right now with the potential to develop into better run defenders than vice versa.

Originally posted by Heroism:
I'm going to be honest: I like what little I've seen of McDonald, but the entire DL room is filled with guys that need improve as pass rushers. The 49ers need guys that can get after the QB right now, not in the future. They were literally dead last in sacks and pressures last season.

The 49ers are better positioned to go after guys that are pass rushers right now with the potential to develop into better run defenders than vice versa.

I think they need dominant players period. Neither Collins nor West graded out well at all as rookies. I think they have the upside to get a lot better but if you can get a dominant run stopping DT that can eat up blockers and stop teams from running up the middle, that is also going to be a major boost to the defense.

If they can get a better player that is an edge rusher compared to McDonald, good. Or WR, OG, C or safety or even CB. So much the better but McDonald looks like he has the upside to be a true impact player at the next level. And they need as many of those as they can get.

I think the approach should be talent over need so if McDonald is the top guy on the board, great. Then spend the rest of the draft working on pass rush, OL upgrades, receiver and safety.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
I think they need dominant players period. Neither Collins nor West graded out well at all as rookies. I think they have the upside to get a lot better but if you can get a dominant run stopping DT that can eat up blockers and stop teams from running up the middle, that is also going to be a major boost to the defense.

If they can get a better player that is an edge rusher compared to McDonald, good. Or WR, OG, C or safety or even CB. So much the better but McDonald looks like he has the upside to be a true impact player at the next level. And they need as many of those as they can get.

I think the approach should be talent over need so if McDonald is the top guy on the board, great. Then spend the rest of the draft working on pass rush, OL upgrades, receiver and safety.

This x100

The 49ers can do more to fix the run defense by adjusting their base alignment than throwing more bodies at it. The wide 9 is an inherently flawed front to defend the run to begin with. We saw Saleh shifting away from it on the very first game of the season when they debuted with a 5-man surface against Seattle. I hope Raheem continues with that trend.

But yeah, I agree in regards to drafting impact players irrespective of position. That said, I think it's time for heads to roll if they don't address the pass rush at all again. You can't have the worst pass rush in the NFL and set yourself to be in that exact same situation again going into the next season. The wide 9 is designed to be a pass-rushing front first and foremost, yet the 49ers don't have any pass rushers outside of Nick Bosa. Someone make it make sense. If Bosa goes down again next season, the pass rush goes down with him.

I forgot to add that the Rams have fully transitioned to a base 13 personnel team with power/gap run game led by a massive, mauling OL. They're not only built to take on the Seahawks; they're built to destroy the 49ers. It's definitely time to ditch the base wide 9.

Originally posted by Heroism:
The 49ers can do more to fix the run defense by adjusting their base alignment than throwing more bodies at it. The wide 9 is an inherently flawed front to defend the run to begin with. We saw Saleh shifting away from it on the very first game of the season when they debuted with a 5-man surface against Seattle. I hope Raheem continues with that trend.

But yeah, I agree in regards to drafting impact players irrespective of position. That said, I think it's time for heads to roll if they don't address the pass rush at all again. You can't have the worst pass rush in the NFL and set yourself to be in that exact same situation again going into the next season. The wide 9 is designed to be a pass-rushing front first and foremost, yet the 49ers don't have any pass rushers outside of Nick Bosa. Someone make it make sense. If Bosa goes down again next season, the pass rush goes down with him.

I forgot to add that the Rams have fully transitioned to a base 13 personnel team with power/gap run game led by a massive, mauling OL. They're not only built to take on the Seahawks; they're built to destroy the 49ers. It's definitely time to ditch the base wide 9.

I think they're looking at a two year process ideally to reload the roster fully, if they go about it properly. I'm not at all picky on position, just good prospects and especially adding some speed and strength to the roster as a whole.

I really like Zion Young.

Originally posted by lamontb:

I really like Zion Young.

I like the talent too, but Hero mentioned issues that I think make him a non-target for us.

He had a DWI in December 2025, as well as assault charges in 2022. Two mess-ups like that are gonna drop or pull him off many teams' boards.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by lamontb:
I really like Zion Young.

I like the talent too, but Hero mentioned issues that I think make him a non-target for us.

He had a DWI in December 2025, as well as assault charges in 2022. Two mess-ups like that are gonna drop or pull him off many teams' boards.

Dam...off the board