Perhaps the San Francisco 49ers' massive overreaches in the 2026 NFL Draft will be offset by the fact this year's class wasn't exactly known for being, well... good.
The same can't be said for 2027, though, which reportedly will be a stacked class.
Of course, a lot will change between now and April of 2027. But it's not hard to gauge some of the Niners' bigger needs based upon how the roster is contructed now, who'll be a free agent, who's aging and what positions need a bit more umph.
How about replacing left tackle Trent Williams, who'll be age 38 to kick off 2026 and is only a year or two removed from retiring? That'd be a good starting point.
Yet that's not how FanSided's Cody Williams saw things when he dished out his first mock draft for 2027.
And if San Francisco did this, it'd probably shock nobody.
49ers select DL A'Mauri Washington in FanSided's 1st mock draft for 2027
Picking 25th overall, Williams' selection for the 49ers does make a lot of sense, grabbing Oregon interior defensive lineman A'Mauri Washington. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound defender is a people mover, and he'd likely be an immediate upgrade over the incumbents, Alfred Collins and (now) rookie lineman Gracen Halton.
While an edge rusher makes sense here, too, there'd be nothing wrong with the Washington pick. And, as Williams said, the 49ers love grabbing defensive linemen early in the draft:
The San Francisco 49ers are one of the most impossible teams to mock draft for because they so wildly beat to their own drum. But they do tend to value the defensive front, and the upside with A'Mauri Washington is massive. He's a big body who elitely converts explosion off the line into power at the point of attack. If he can translate that into production, he'll be an easy first-rounder and San Francisco is a nice landing spot.
Now, looking at Williams' mock, no offensive linemen were selected after San Francisco picked at No. 25 overall, and Mizzou's Cayden Green was taken at No. 20 by the Houston Texans.
So, maybe we can't entirely blame the Niners for a would-be selection of Washington instead of finding their Hall of Fame left tackle's heir apparent.
At least the 2027 draft is a long, long ways away.
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