The San Francisco 49ers have six draft picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, but four of those picks will come in the fourth round.
That means at round could pretty much determine whether the Niners have a good draft or not.
There are plenty of needs to address, and the Niners could actually address a lot of their most acute needs by focusing on talent from Bay Area schools in the fourth round.
Let's take a look at two players in particular who would make a ton of sense for San Francisco in Round 4.
TE Sam Roush, Stanford
Stanford tight end Sam Roush is a player who makes sense for the 49ers for many reasons. First and foremost, the Niners do not know when star tight end George Kittle will be back on the field as he recovers from his Achilles injury.
The hope is he will be ready by Week 1, but that seems overly ambitious given the severity of the injury and how it occurred in January of this year.
The Niners will at least have Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell as depth options if Kittle does need a little more time, but it wouldn't hurt to add another young player into the mix in Roush.
The Tennessee native had 49 receptions for 545 yards and two touchdowns in his final season with the Cardinal. He's known primarily for his run-blocking skills, which could certainly come in handy if Kittle is out because of the impact he has in the run game.
Plus, Kittle is now 32 years old and is coming off a major injury. While it may be sacrilegious to suggest that Kittle will not be elite forever, the Niners have to think about contingency or succession plans at the position.
Roush is projected by some to go in Round 3, but if he falls to Round 4, it would not be a shock if the Niners snagged him.
DB Hezekiah Masses, Cal
Another player who went to a Bay Area school and could be perfect for the Niners in Round 4 is Hezekiah Masses. The Cal product is projected to go in the fourth round and had five interceptions in 2025 with the Golden Bears.
San Francisco could use a big boost in the secondary with how Renardo Green struggled at times last season, so look out for Masses if he is still available.
General manager John Lynch went to Stanford, and many fans of the team also cheer for either Stanford or Cal when it comes to college football, so why not keep these two players close to where they played their college ball?