49ers select Jaden Dugger-LB-Louisiana Lafayette with pick 154 in the 2026 NFL Draft

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by WildBill:
Jaden will not be the Mike LB. KJ played WILL didn't he, but that is Dre for now. So SAM- there was talk because of his size, he would take the TE and bigger slot receivers if he is in coverage. For his rookie year I see him blitzing a lot with some falling back in coverage. depends on the team they play.

We are not going to see it till the season starts as pre season is supposed to be vanilla schemes.

One does not just come in and beat a Gifford

Nor Cassius Marsh for that matter

Originally posted by genus49:
Buddy has to make the roster first before we worry about where he's going to play. I hope he can put it together and give us another late round gem. He's a very intriguing player but with guys like this I worry about how they can be snuck onto the roster because he likely needs a year or two of seasoning but could we sneak him onto the PS?

Guess we'll see what he can do in camp and figure it out from there.

If he's a good player, they'll put him on the 53. Just like in Purdy's case. I hope all our drafted and UDFA's make the 53. That means ShanaLynch has significantly upgraded the talent level on this team.

Originally posted by CornellU49er:

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by WildBill:
Jaden will not be the Mike LB. KJ played WILL didn't he, but that is Dre for now. So SAM- there was talk because of his size, he would take the TE and bigger slot receivers if he is in coverage. For his rookie year I see him blitzing a lot with some falling back in coverage. depends on the team they play.

We are not going to see it till the season starts as pre season is supposed to be vanilla schemes.

One does not just come in and beat a Gifford

Nor Cassius Marsh for that matter

That dude is retired

Originally posted by DRCHOWDER:

Jaden Dugger: "I think I have the most upside of any player in this draft. This is the worst I'm ever going to be and I'm still making plays compared to guys who are supposed to be the top players in this class. I'm only going to get better." Per @JustinM_NFL interview #49ers pic.twitter.com/1OXc9a65TA

— 49er_Edits (@49er_edits) April 28, 2026

I love this, if this is coming from him.

Originally posted by BMoore56:

Originally posted by CornellU49er:

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by WildBill:
Jaden will not be the Mike LB. KJ played WILL didn't he, but that is Dre for now. So SAM- there was talk because of his size, he would take the TE and bigger slot receivers if he is in coverage. For his rookie year I see him blitzing a lot with some falling back in coverage. depends on the team they play.

We are not going to see it till the season starts as pre season is supposed to be vanilla schemes.

One does not just come in and beat a Gifford

Nor Cassius Marsh for that matter

That dude is retired

Lol

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by genus49:
Buddy has to make the roster first before we worry about where he's going to play. I hope he can put it together and give us another late round gem. He's a very intriguing player but with guys like this I worry about how they can be snuck onto the roster because he likely needs a year or two of seasoning but could we sneak him onto the PS?

Guess we'll see what he can do in camp and figure it out from there.

If he's a good player, they'll put him on the 53. Just like in Purdy's case. I hope all our drafted and UDFA's make the 53. That means ShanaLynch has significantly upgraded the talent level on this team.

Let's hope that's the case and it's a no doubter he's gotta make the 53. Clearly they saw it with Brock(I know I would've bet my life savings that year he'd be a PS stash)

Of course we're all familiar with that concept. You cut one of these guys and another team can pick him up. Tho I will add there are guys who simply aren't ready but end up being good players. Some people forget Jauan Jennings was cut as a rookie. I think we can all agree he's a good player, especially given his draft spot. We got lucky nobody scooped him up.

Originally posted by genus49:
Let's hope that's the case and it's a no doubter he's gotta make the 53. Clearly they saw it with Brock(I know I would've bet my life savings that year he'd be a PS stash)

Of course we're all familiar with that concept. You cut one of these guys and another team can pick him up. Tho I will add there are guys who simply aren't ready but end up being good players. Some people forget Jauan Jennings was cut as a rookie. I think we can all agree he's a good player, especially given his draft spot. We got lucky nobody scooped him up.

Jauan still haven't been picked up. but he did visit the Vikings. That's a good start.

Yeah, at one point Kurt Warner and even Tom Brady were so called fringe and had to suffer the consequences. What i will say is that the better the coach, the more odds that fringe players that are really good - do make the team.

Captain practice squad for 3-5 years for development... this kid is a total grab your azz flyer pick by Johnny, we could have done much better

I like this guy a lot. I think he will need half a season or so before he starts to contribute but I can see him being used all over the place. He may spend his rookie year inactive but once he's developed, I like him.

I can see him being used like the guy up in Seattle was. A big, long, athletic dude that was essentially a safety but also LB.

Originally posted by riverrunzthruit:
Captain practice squad for 3-5 years for development... this kid is a total grab your azz flyer pick by Johnny, we could have done much better

We will see. Everything I've heard from the kid screams someone who will be successful in this league but if guys could talk their way into being dominant players then Solomon Thomas would've been an All Pro instead of a bust(tho to be fair if we got Solly's career from Dugger at his respective position it would be a great pick)

Originally posted by genus49:

Originally posted by riverrunzthruit:
Captain practice squad for 3-5 years for development... this kid is a total grab your azz flyer pick by Johnny, we could have done much better

We will see. Everything I've heard from the kid screams someone who will be successful in this league but if guys could talk their way into being dominant players then Solomon Thomas would've been an All Pro instead of a bust(tho to be fair if we got Solly's career from Dugger at his respective position it would be a great pick)

I chalk up the Solomon Thomas pick to ShanaLynch being rookie drafters. Not that they've improved, but that they've learned at least to not go after head cases and nepotism.

Originally posted by tankle104:
I like this guy a lot. I think he will need half a season or so before he starts to contribute but I can see him being used all over the place. He may spend his rookie year inactive but once he's developed, I like him.

I can see him being used like the guy up in Seattle was. A big, long, athletic dude that was essentially a safety but also LB.

All our draft picks look really good to me. For me it's tough to choose. All of them athletically look like they can be in Canton in a decade or two from the physical freaks that they are.

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by tankle104:
I like this guy a lot. I think he will need half a season or so before he starts to contribute but I can see him being used all over the place. He may spend his rookie year inactive but once he's developed, I like him.

I can see him being used like the guy up in Seattle was. A big, long, athletic dude that was essentially a safety but also LB.

All our draft picks look really good to me. For me it's tough to choose. All of them athletically look like they can be in Canton in a decade or two from the physical freaks that they are.

Yeah, we drafted a bunch of freaks out side of carver.

I just love this guys versatility, size, a s athleticism. Hes very similar to Warner when he was drafted. Not only the position changes but the athletic profile.

id almost think about him playing safety. The Seahawks have this floater on their defense that's a hybrid S/LB. Would love to have something like this.

i just don't know what sort of defense we will be running but im guessing it's going to have a lot of dressed up plays and go after the Qb. Falcons had quite a bit of sacks last year

Originally posted by tankle104:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by tankle104:
I like this guy a lot. I think he will need half a season or so before he starts to contribute but I can see him being used all over the place. He may spend his rookie year inactive but once he's developed, I like him.

I can see him being used like the guy up in Seattle was. A big, long, athletic dude that was essentially a safety but also LB.

All our draft picks look really good to me. For me it's tough to choose. All of them athletically look like they can be in Canton in a decade or two from the physical freaks that they are.

Yeah, we drafted a bunch of freaks out side of carver.

I just love this guys versatility, size, a s athleticism. Hes very similar to Warner when he was drafted. Not only the position changes but the athletic profile.

id almost think about him playing safety. The Seahawks have this floater on their defense that's a hybrid S/LB. Would love to have something like this.

i just don't know what sort of defense we will be running but im guessing it's going to have a lot of dressed up plays and go after the Qb. Falcons had quite a bit of sacks last year

Atlanta's head coach - Raheem - really had a good draft pick in 2025 draft. He picked up James Pearce Jr. and he got 10+ sacks as a rookie. His young DT - 4th round pick Brandon Dorlas (2024 draft) had 8+ sacks also in 2025. Now, this year, he has Bosa, Mykel Williams. Add in Kris Kocurek and the talented rookies - and I think this defensive line has the potential to be great this year.