With the 2026 NFL Draft in the books, analysts have begun evaluating the San Francisco 49ers' eight-player class, offering early insights into the team's top selections and potential misses.

For CBS Sports, draft analysts Mike Renner and Josh Edwards—both heavily involved in pre-draft prospect evaluations—highlighted three 49ers picks as the best, worst, and most intriguing, assigning grades and context to each.


Best pick


Renner tabbed former Texas Tech edge rusher Romello Height as the 49ers' best selection, awarding the third-round pick (No. 70 overall) an "A" grade. Height fills a glaring need for a defense that finished with an NFL-low 20 sacks last season.

"The 49ers had the fewest sacks in the NFL last season. That's hopefully changing with Height," Renner wrote. "He's an NFL-ready pass rusher who has a lot of different, refined moves at his disposal. At only 239 pounds, though, he's a pass-rush only guy who won't be on the field for run downs."

Height expressed confidence in his ability to bolster the 49ers' inconsistent pass rush in 2026 when told about the defense coming in last in sacks last season.

"Humbly, I will be able to help them with that," Height said.

Worst pick


The designation for the 49ers' worst pick will come as little surprise. Former Indiana running back Kaelon Black, selected in the third round (No. 90 overall), was widely viewed as a reach, with many evaluators projecting him to be available much later in the draft.


"I'll say this about Black, the man runs HARD," Renner noted. "He runs like he's mad at the ground. He's just a much older prospect who'll be a 25-year-old rookie. He's also limited athletically and struggles to change directions efficiently."

Black will turn 25 in October. Jordan James, a fifth-round draft pick last year, just turned 22 in March. The 49ers earned a "D+" grade for their selection of Black.

Most interesting pick


Edwards pointed to the 49ers' fourth-round selection of former Washington offensive lineman Carver Willis (No. 127 overall) as the team's most intriguing move. While he played tackle in college, Willis is expected to transition inside to guard at the NFL level.

"While preparing for Day 3 of the NFL Draft, I perused recent drafts and players who have been successful at this stage of the festivities," Edwards wrote. "San Francisco had multiple starting offensive linemen found on Day 3. Willis could be next."

Willis is expected to compete with Connor Colby and Robert Jones for the starting left guard job as the 49ers look to solidify their offensive line heading into the 2026 season.

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