A quick reminder: The San Francisco 49ers spent considerable effort revamping their roster last offseason by parting ways with several aging and expensive players and infusing plenty of promising talent via the NFL Draft.
Now, with nearly a full regular season in the books, it's always worth examining how the 2026 draft class performed across the league, which is precisely what ESPN's Benjamin Solak did in naming his All-Rookie team.
Unfortunately for Niners fans, they'll be hard-pressed to find a lot of their favorite rookies on Solak's list.
Remember, San Francisco invested heavily on defense, using its five of its first picks on that side of the ball, including three players to reinforce what was a depleted defensive line. The No. 11 selection was used on defensive end Mykel Williams, while subsequent picks tabbed defensive tackles Alfred Collins and C.J. West.
Yet neither of those three earned Solak's recognition.
49ers have only 1 player named to ESPN's All-Rookie team
Williams' mid-season ACL tear certainly destroyed his chances to make the list. And while Collins had made a handful of splash plays to date, he's not quite at the level of becoming a household name like so many of the other first-year pros Solak selected.
It doesn't help San Francisco ranks dead last in sacks either.
Instead, the only 49ers player even mentioned on Solak's list is nickel cornerback Upton Stout, who earned second-team All-Rookie honors behind fellow slot-cover defender Jacob Parrish of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who secured first-team accolades.
Of Stout, Solak wrote:
"Stout is a perfect fit in the 49ers' secondary under Robert Saleh. Ferocious and undeterred, Stout will stick his nose into the fan with reckless abandon, regularly creating splash plays along with solo tackles in run support. Stout needs to play with faster eyes and feel in coverage, but he did well to minimize yards after the catch with his tackling ability. The peaks are very impressive, and if the game slows down for him, he'll generate a lot more forced incompletions."
Stout received plenty of attention and praise during training camp. And while he has gotten into some trouble with his notably physical style of play, drawing seven accepted penalties thus far, it's easy to see why he's trending toward being a quality defensive back who can turn into a key cog within Saleh's defense.
Now, if only a few other Niners rookies would have made the team. But San Francisco will happily take one, for now.