\"We're the San Francisco 49ers, we can do whatever we want.\"
For a third straight season, the San Francisco 49ers selected a running back. Isaac Guerendo from Louisville was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft, Jordan James of Oregon was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, and Kaelon Black of Indiana was taken with a third-round pick in […]
The San Francisco 49ers haven’t been shy about drafting players from the same school under the current regime. They’ve drafted a pair of Notre Dame offensive linemen in the top 50 in Aaron Banks and Mike McGlinchey. Deebo Samuel and Javon Kinlaw both came out of the University of South Carolina. There are examples of […]
The 2026 NFL Draft has come and gone, and the San Francisco 49ers are off to the next phase of their offseason program, with rookie minicamp coming up soon. Heading into the offseason, the 49ers had a plan to address quite a few of their needs, becoming much more active in free agency with additions […]
The San Francisco 49ers have been catching quite a bit of flak for their 2026 draft class, especially their choices to deviate from the consensus board with a couple of perceived reaches throughout the draft. The most notable selections being scrutinized so far have been taking wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, considered a late-second round or […]
Why the Seahawks expected 49ers to pick a RB and what it means for Christian McCaffrey (paywall)“In a story breaking down Seattle’s eight-man draft class, which began with the selection of Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price with the No. 32 pick, ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported the Seahawks had “concern” that the 49ers might grab Price […]
Nobody loves drafting running backs early like the Seattle Seahawks. After losing Kenneth Walker to the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle selected Notre Dame’s backup Jadarian Price in the first round. The San Francisco 49ers received heat from the media for trading down twice before selecting Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling. The pick was perceived […]
The San Francisco 49ers benefited from a last-place schedule in the 2025 regular season. A soft landing in the second half aided the Niners to a 12-win season. Despite winning double digits last year, Kyle Shanahan’s squad is projected to once again have a relatively easy path in 2026 after finishing third in the division, […]
The focus last week was on the first few picks the San Francisco 49ers made in the NFL Draft. Most of the discussion centered around those picks was about whether they would’ve been available the next time the Niners were on the clock. The analysis about the players themselves was few and far between. Let’s […]
The last time former San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke was in the NFL, he served as the Jacksonville Jaguars general manager from 2021 to 2024. The Jaguars made the playoffs once in four seasons. Baalke got it right at quarterback with Trevor Lawrence in a forgettable 2021 QB class. Jacksonville won three games […]
Expert links former 49ers star to NFC West rival as best fit“Jaxon Smith-Njigba was incredible for the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks, but he shouldered a hefty 36 percent of Seattle’s targets and 37 percent of its receptions, both figures counting as the highest by any player on any team in a season over the last […]
The 49ers weren’t sure if Kaelon Black would last until the 4th round of the NFL Draft“The fourth round was allegedly a sweet spot for running backs. Arkansas’s Mike Washington was popular among the draft community for his ability to rip off the big play. He was one of the worst pass-protecting backs I can […]
Why did 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan sound upset no one tried trading for Mac Jones? (Paywall) “Shanahan’s reaction to the lack of trade interest in the backup QB strongly suggested the 49ers were willing — perhaps eager — to discuss a draft-day deal. Shanahan said he expected to receive Jones-related trade calls on the first day of […]
The San Francisco 49ers drafted a running back earlier than the masses expected them to. Write in whatever year you’d like under this regime, and that sentence rings true. Kaelon Black didn’t start at Indiana. He wasn’t among the 319 players invited to the NFL Combine. The sixth-year senior had to show his route-running chops […]
We’ve seen plenty of discussion surrounding where draft analysts and fans thought prospects would go, but not enough analysis on the players. We will never truly know where these players would have been picked. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch wrote a column where a current general manager said, “My guess would have been in […]
Social media had some fun with San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who admitted he doesn’t watch college prospects until February. While the personnel and scouts are traveling and watching players year-round, Shanahan is, and you might want to sit down for this, coaching. He explained his process on the Rich Eisen Show: I […]
The Athletic’s Mike Sando offered insights from executives on all 16 NFC teams. The hot topic for the San Francisco 49ers has been their perceived reaches in the NFL Draft. That topic didn’t change in this article. The first exec weighed in on the consensus talk: “The consensus piece is really more about extracting value. […]
Scot McCloughan on 49ers’ draft: ‘I’d take Stribling in a heartbeat over Cooper’ (paywall)“I liked him quite a bit, to tell you the truth,” McCloughan said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Some people didn’t, and I don’t understand why, because he’s got size, he’s got speed, he’s got good ball skills. And he made plays. […]
The 49ers raised eyebrows in last week’s draft when they twice passed on the opportunity to take Omar Cooper Jr. or Denzel Boston in the first round, instead trading down twice and selecting their fellow wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling with the 33rd overall pick in the second round. After Cooper went No. 30 to the […]
In March 2025, the San Francisco 49ers claimed cornerback Tre Tomlinson off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams. A week after the NFL Draft, the 49ers announced they waived Tomlinson, who never stepped foot onto the football field this past season, even in the preseason. Tomlinson, a sixth-round pick from the 2023 NFL Draft, last […]
The 49ers’ all-world tight end’s 2025 season ended with an unfortunate Achilles injury in the 49ers’ victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Wild Card weekend. The physicality George Kittle plays with is almost unmatched, and he is undoubtedly the offense’s identity leader. Kittle ruptured his Achilles in January, but there have been whispers about a […]
With the internet ruining the word ‘consensus’ through incessant discussions, and how the 49ers run their drafts against it, Kyle Shanahan shed some light on his philosophy for this draft class and how it pertains to the present and future of the San Francisco 49ers. Shanahan joined the Rich Eisen show and spoke about his […]
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided intel on every draft class about every team from NFL executives. Some thought the San Francisco 49ers would draft a wide receiver similar to Mike Evans. That was Denzel Boston. According to Fowler, the Niners got somebody closer to Chris Godwin Jr. instead with De’Zhaun Stribling: Mike Evans might look across the […]
The San Francisco 49ers have caught a lot of flack this week after the 2026 NFL Draft, where they made a few selections that deviated from the consensus board, leading many to believe that they reached on several draft picks. Following the draft, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan affirmed their belief […]
The San Francisco 49ers had another polarizing draft this offseason, with analysts varying in their evaluation of the team’s draft class. Heading into the draft with only a few needs, the 49ers addressed wide receiver, edge rusher, running back, and defensive tackle with their first four picks, adding needed depth at each position. There was […]
Did 49ers reach to draft De’Zhaun Stribling? Here’s one NFL GM’s blunt assessment (paywall)“The 49ers made Stribling one of 16 prospects who received a “gold-helmet” designation, which reflects qualities such as leadership, unselfishness, toughness and work ethic. The 49ers saw those traits displayed in his ferocious run blocking — they viewed him as the draft’s best […]