It might have flown under the radar a bit, but the San Francisco 49ers wrapped up signing their 2026 NFL Draft class by officially announcing deals for both defensive end Romello Height and defensive tackle Gracen Halton.
Few will care about that, given they're not first- or even second-round picks, and the league long ago standardized the pay scale for drafted rookies.
But there's an important nugget that shouldn't be overlooked with the final two transactions from the draft class.
All of the Niners' players are cleared for the beginning of training camp and won't be barred from taking the field.
This wasn't the case a year ago.
49ers will avoid Alfred Collins-like situation that dogged them in 2025
In an odd twist, nearly all of the 2025 draft's Round 2 rookies experienced significant delays in inking contracts with their respective teams, including San Francisco's second-round selection, defensive tackle Alfred Collins.
This delay cut into his training camp, and it was pretty evident from the start how much he missed by not being present for these crucial steps in his maturation and development. From the preseason through the first few weeks of the regular-season campaign, Collins looked completely out of sorts. It was evident missing the opening phase of camp did him no favors.
True, the defensive tackle had some splash moments as he grew more acclimated, yet his overall prowess wasn't exactly viewed as a net positive, which may help explain why the 49ers subsequently traded for veteran defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa before drafting another interior defender, Halton, last April.
Sure, it's anyone's guess how Halton and Height perform at the pro level. But, at least the Niners sidestepped any potential setbacks and developmental delays they otherwise could've experience, had any of their first-year rookies not fully signed their contracts.
One problem fully removed. Potential downstream impacts now avoided. That's good.
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