49ers' 5-round mock NFL Draft highlights painful reality in 2025

The 49ers could very well look like a different team in 2025 compared to now, and our latest five-round mock NFL Draft tries to alleviate it.

There's a strong chance the Super Bowl window for the current rendition of the San Francisco 49ers has closed.

Nearing the halfway point of the 2024 season, the Niners appear to be no better than a .500 team, perhaps one that could compete for a playoff berth but won't make it any further than the divisional round.

With an aging and increasingly expensive roster, plus knowing it has to extend quarterback Brock Purdy on a lucrative deal, San Francisco has to begin prioritizing the next generation of up-and-coming talent.

Putting it bluntly, it might be time to turn the page on the team's current chapter.

Granted, falling short of Super Bowl aspirations has its benefits. There's a strong chance the 49ers won't be selecting in the 30s in the upcoming NFL Draft, meaning more immediate-impact talent should be available when they're officially on the clock this April.

To help set that tone, while acknowledging the Niners are likely to see some hefty turnover entering 2025, let's dish out a five-round mock draft using Pro Football Focus' mock tool that has San Francisco picking at No. 14 overall.

49ers 5-round mock 2025 NFL Draft

The 49ers have neglected massive upgrades to their offensive line in recent years, and they're faced with the hard reality of future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams' inevitable retirement in the near future. Plus, getting an upgrade over the lackluster right tackle, Colton McKivitz, has to be a priority right away.

Texas' ascent as an NCAA powerhouse has produced plenty of top prospects, and there's a chance offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is the first lineman grabbed this upcoming April.

From a fit perspective, Banks can play either side of the O-line, allowing a team like the Niners to plug him in right away in McKivitz's spot while aiming to make him Williams' eventual replacement.

Banks boasts strength and is more of a fit in power schemes, which head coach Kyle Shanahan has adopted more in recent years, but the lineman's abilities in zone-blocking systems can't be undercut.

If San Francisco is looking for a major retooling in 2025, starting in the trenches would be wise.

Despite some flashes in recent weeks, veteran edge rusher Leonoard Floyd hasn't exactly proven to be the perfect bookend to All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa, thereby highlighting the 49ers' need to grab someone who can get to the quarterback on a regular basis.

So far, those efforts haven't panned out, highlighted by recent draft failures like defensive end Drake Jackson.

Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. has some Bosa-like traits. For starters, opponents this season have schemed away from him, fearing an incredible first step that has thrown offensive linemen off balance.

While Pearce probably needs to start off his career solely as a pass-rushing specialist, the Niners could easily work him into the rotation as an eventual Floyd replacement and long-term bookend for Bosa.

Staying in the trenches, San Francisco needs more than just one new offensive lineman to bolster this embattled unit, particularly with the understanding left guard Aaron Banks is poised to hit free agency in 2025.

There's a strong chance the 49ers bump rookie right guard Dominick Puni over to the left side after his stellar first year as a pro, but that opens up another void that'll need to be addressed with an affordable option.

Enter Texas A&M's Ar'maj Reed-Adams.

The transfer from Kansas has positional versatility, boosting his stock and making him a quality reserve in year one, at the very least. And while he's predominantly a run-blocking power-scheme lineman, the physical traits are there to suggest adaptability in both zone-blocking and in pass protection.

The Niners losing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a serious season-ending knee injury not only derails his 2024 campaign but casts doubts upon his level of ability in 2025, too. Coupled with the possibility of having to move on from fellow wideout Deebo Samuel as a cap casualty this offseason, San Francisco would be wise to restock its wide receiver room as insurance.

At 6-foot-4 and 219 pounds, Oklahoma's Nic Anderson has plenty of traits that can help solve some of the 49ers' current offensive woes. Anderson is a legitimate red-zone threat who doesn't mind using his body to box out defenders, and his straight-line speed naturally creates separation.

Sure, Anderson needs some route-running refinement, which may drop his value in head coach Kyle Shanahan's eyes to an extent.

But, as a late Round 3 compensatory target, the Niners could do much worse.

San Francisco's cornerback room is likely to experience the most turnover out of any position in 2025, as Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Isaac Yiadom and Rock Ya-Sin are all pending free agents.

Lenoir and arguably Ward are the two the 49ers would probably like to bring back, but one might expect a pretty hefty market for both players, and neither have hinted at taking a hometown discount to stay in the Bay Area.

While the Niners can be pleased with 2024 rookie corner Renardo Green's development, they'll need more help here.

Virginia Tech's Dorian Strong is a little thin, at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. But he makes up for it with a strong football IQ and exceptional ballhawking skills.

San Francisco's Super Bowl loss of star linebacker Dre Greenlaw shed light on just how problematic the position has been behind All-Pro Fred Warner.

Sure, second-year pro Dee Winters has flashed some promise, while rookie Tatum Bethune might be a solid reservist. But the two veterans, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and De'Vondre Campbell, have been massive liabilities on defense.

Greenlaw is set to hit the open market in 2025, too, making a late-round flier on a linebacker even more of a priority.

Kentucky's Jamon Dumas-Johnson might not have elite coverage skills, given his lack of sideline-to-sideline ability. But he's quality at stopping interior runs, which is another weakness the 49ers haven't exactly addressed in recent years.

Speaking of interior run defenders, the Niners may look to shore up the middle of their defensive line in addition to grabbing an edge rusher, and Virginia Tech's Aeneas Peebles is a quality target on day three of the draft.

Peebles, 6-foot-1 and 290 pounds, projects as the kind of short, squatty 1-technique nose tackle San Francisco used to prioritize (think now-Denver Broncos lineman D.J. Jones), and that low leverage has made him a disruptive interior presence who not only can stuff interior rush lanes but has some underrated pass-rushing abilities.

It wouldn't be shocking if the 49ers made Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who's currently on injured reserve, a cap casualty in 2025. That'd leave the Niners with less-potent D-linemen like Maliek Collins, Jordan Elliott and Kalia Davis as the go-to options with 2024 rookie Evan Anderson a project player.

Reinforcing that depth with Peebles could help turn San Francisco's D-line back into a potent strength.

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