The San Francisco 49ers' dream of a season came to a crashing nightmare of a halt in the divisional round of the playoffs, thanks to a 41-6 shellacking by the Seattle Seahawks that revealed why the Niners were nowhere near in the same class as their NFC West rivals.
And that might turn into a full blessing in disguise, provided general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan apply those lessons learned this offseason.
Armed with the 27th overall pick, there's no surefire guarantee San Francisco will hit on a home-run prospect out of the gate. And while there are plenty of core pieces still in place, there's also a massive need to infuse youthful talent as the crop of established stars begin to age out.
So, why not aid both Shanahan and Lynch with our own mock to put the 49ers back into a class where they can overtake teams like Seattle en route to becoming a perennial Super Bowl contender again?
Using Pro Football Focus' mock-draft tool, lets present the Niners with a blueprint to land some impact talent that'll help shape the next phase of championship-caliber football in the Bay Area.
49ers 7-round mock NFL Draft, playoff-elimination version
Drafting so late in Round 1 (and every subsequent round) means Lynch and Co. have the ability to simply grab the best player available, which is a nice advantage that is often misunderstood or ignored.
San Francisco applies that notion with its first pick here.
Wide receiver would make plenty of sense in Round 1, but the big names like Makai Lemon and Denzel Boston are already off the board at this point.
So, with the BPA principle in effect, the 49ers pivot to land a bookend tackle, Utah's Caleb Lomu.
Lomu has the pedigree to be a franchise left tackle at some point very soon, and the Niners have to think about landing a successor to future Hall of Famer Trent Williams, who'll be 38 years old in 2026.
In the interim, Lomu can be an immediate upgrade over right tackle Colton McKivitz, helping shore up an offensive line that was wholly overwhelmed by the Seahawks in both Week 18 and the divisional round.
Brandon Aiyuk is all but gone from San Francisco's long-term plans, and Jauan Jennings could be if he opts to seek greener pastures in free agency, leaving Ricky Pearsall and Demarcus Robinson as the only established wide receivers on Shanahan's roster.
While it's too early to give up on the oft banged-up Pearsall, his non-impact from the divisional round was apparent, and the 49ers sorely missed his ability to beat man coverage.
Putting it bluntly, the Niners need more pass-catching weapons. Badly.
Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. aids that by providing a 6-foot, 201-pound frame with excellent hands and catch radius, and he fits the Shanahan pedigree, as described in the above-linked scouting report:
"Think about how Miami uses Jaylen Waddle or how San Francisco deployed Brandon Aiyuk before his breakout, moving receivers around to create advantageous matchups and letting their YAC ability do the heavy lifting. Cooper can fill that role tomorrow with his hands, toughness, and ability to create after the catch."
Plus, being a national champion adds a winning mentality-type of X-factor.
A trade!
San Francisco has a trade asset in backup quarterback Mac Jones, and the Indianapolis Colts need someone under center in a bad way after losing pending free-agent Daniel Jones to injury late last season. And, at this point in the draft, Jones is way better than anyone Indy could grab with the No. 78 overall pick.
Indianapolis gets its QB, while the 49ers land a strong-bodied, zone-style cornerback in Clemson's Daylen Everette.
While corner doesn't appear to be as pressing a need as others, the recent concerns over two-year pro Renardo Green might indicate the Niners want to seek a better option.
Especially one who can deal with the Hawks' Jaxson Smith-Njigba and the Los Angeles Rams' Puka Nacua twice a year.
Some may see a pass-rusher as a bigger need for San Francisco after finishing dead last in sacks last season with 20. But that was in the wake of defensive end Nick Bosa missing all but three games with an ACL tear, while the 2024 first-round draftee, Mykel Williams, went down a short while later with the same injury.
Getting both Bosa and Williams back will be massive, and the return of edge Bryce Huff should cap off the top of the pass-rushing crop. Depth is more of a concern here, and the 49ers shouldn't shy away from that in the middle rounds.
That's where Penn State's Dani Dennis-Sutton comes into play.
With a 6-foot-5 and 265-pound frame, Dennis-Sutton already has the physical build to provide an immediate impact as an edge setter against the run -- another Niners defensive weakness. While his pass-rushing moves and get-off need refinement, Dennis-Sutton wouldn't be pressed into anything but a rotational role out of the gate.
Diving into Round 4, San Francisco shouldn't be content with just one added offensive lineman. Plus, with left guard Spencer Burford pinned for free agency, and Ben Bartch struggling to stay healthy, getting a plug-and-play interior lineman is a solid move to kick off day three.
Georgia Tech's Keylan Rutledge is both scheme versatile and has a nastiness that should make him a fan-favorite out of the gate. Plus, his 6-foot-4 and 320-pound frame allow him to be a mover in the ground game, which would aid the 49ers in getting their ground attack back into good shape.
While Rutledge needs some technical refinement, particularly his pad level, most of his shortcomings are coachable and wouldn't impede what should be a rapid development into at least a mid-level starter within a couple of years.
All-Pro Christian McCaffrey's 2025 campaign was nothing short of amazing, and there's zero indication that he'll refrain from being Shanahan's bell cow anytime soon. That said, CMC is turning 30 years old this summer and has no shortage of injury concerns. The Niners need to think about his heir apparent... soon.
Perhaps it'll be 2025 rookie Jordan James, who saw scant action in the playoffs. But, if Shanahan is looking at a dual-threat kind of tailback who is a natural zone-style fit, grabbing Wake Forest's Demond Claiborne is a great idea.
Claiborne might have size limitations, but he's elusive and possesses the ideal kind of receiving traits out of the backfield to make him a unique offensive weapon.
No position was hit harder in 2025 than linebacker, forcing San Francisco to grab available free agents off the street by the playoffs. And while the 49ers can bank on healthy returns from Fred Warner, Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune, the latter two haven't exactly solidified themselves as true starting-caliber options. Meanwhile, the maturation and development of last year's third-round pickup, Nick Martin, has been disappointing.
LSU's Harold Perkins Jr. is undersized at 6-foot-1 and 222 pounds, but his ranginess and speed are built for coverage, and he has a knack for making impact defensive plays that go beyond merely taking down ball carriers.
A sneaky big need for the Niners is at safety where veteran Jason Pinnock is poised for free agency, Ji'Ayir Brown flashed but was wildly inconsistent and Malik Mustapha didn't exactly build upon an impressive rookie year from the season before.
What's needed is a tone-setter, and Oklahoma's Robert Spears-Jennings is precisely that.
Excellent against the run, the 6-foot and 213-pound Spears-Jennings is best suited for a zone-style system, and San Francisco is likely to continue that scheme even if the wake of coordinator Robert Saleh's departure.
Capable of playing both safety spots, Spears-Jennings might be the quiet answer to a growing positional problem the 49ers can't ignore.