During the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers lost a significant amount of veterans on both sides of the ball, and the Niners were relatively inactive during free agency to replenish the losses, focusing mainly on backups and special teams additions. The NFL Draft served as a preferred vessel to accomplish this feat.
The verdict is out on how all 32 teams did in the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite some mixed reviews, San Francisco selected a fairly strong rookie class.
According to CBS Sports, the 49ers earned B- or B+ grades on a number of their early-round picks. They selected edge rusher Mykel Williams and defensive tackle Alfred Collins in the first two rounds, followed by linebacker Nick Martin and cornerback Upton Stout in Round 3.
A heavy focus was placed on improving the 49ers' defense. This point was further demonstrated when San Francisco took Indiana defensive tackle C.J. West in the fourth round prior to his college quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, in the seventh round.
Where did 49ers improve most via NFL Draft?
No. 1: Defense
Specifically, the Niners showed they weren't happy with their run defense in 2024. Last year, San Francisco gave up at least one rushing touchdown in 13 of their 17 games.
Even worse, there were seven games where the 49ers gave up multiple rushing scores. At least three were from quarterbacks and at least as many were for 40 yards or more, including a 50-yard rushing score from the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray in Week 5.
Furthermore, following their Week 9 bye, the Niners gave up nine rushing touchdowns in their next four games. A third of those were caused by running back Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers.
Thus, upgrading various key positions on defense was necessary. Even if every rookie is not slated to be a Week 1 starter, their depth at defensive tackle, linebacker, on the edge and in the secondary saw some sort of improvement.
No. 2: Offensive depth
San Francisco selected a pair of wide receivers in Jordan Watkins and Junior Bergen in the fourth and seventh rounds, respectively. It also took running back Jordan James early on in the fifth round, and as mentioned previously, the 49ers added another quarterback in Rourke in the final round of the draft.
Injures blazed through San Francisco's roster in 2024, much like it did in 2020, which just happened to be the last time it missed the postseason.
By adding these four rookies, head coach Kyle Shanahan has more depth to work with. Injuries affected the availability regarding multiple offensive weapons.
More than one running back missed games due to injuries. The 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey, opened up the season on the injured reserve list. Elijah Mitchell was ruled out for the season previous to that and starting running back Jordan Mason failed to play in all 17 games for the 49ers, too.
Wide receivers suffered injuries including the now-departed Deebo Samuel and star playmaker Brandon Aiyuk.
To cover the needs within San Francisco's defense and the depth chart on offense, the Super Bowl LVIII runner-ups did well.
Yet, there is still one glaring flaw that was left unattended during last month's NFL Draft.
49ers showed little love for the offensive line in 2025 NFL Draft
The only pick used by the 49ers on the offensive line was Connor Colby out of Iowa, who wasn't taken until the seventh round when the 249th name was called in the draft.
The Niners gave up nine sacks alone in the first two weeks of the season. San Francisco's starting quarterback, Brock Purdy, was sacked 28 times in 16 games during the 2023 season. Last season, he was sacked 31 times in 15 games.
Reserve lineman Jon Feliciano retired, and startling left guard Aaron Banks departed in free agency for the Green Bay Packers. Swing tackle Jaylon Moore, meanwhile, inked a hefty contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Right guard Dominick Puni had a more than decent rookie year for the 49ers. However, sophomore slumps aren't uncommon in the league.
San Francisco's O-line was the main culprit for this alarming trend. No major fixes were brought in from April's NFL Draft. They 49ers could add depth at guard or offensive tackle following the preseason, though, and they might need to.
Unfortunately, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch didn't address this need.
Hopefully it doesn't come back to haunt them in 2025.