The San Francisco 49ers are mere hours away from kicking off their 2026 regular-season campaign against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
And there's a brutal fact that reveals how poorly one particular aspect of their roster building has gone in recent years.
As shared by the Associated Press' Josh Dubow, San Francisco has just one player, cornerback Renardo Green (Round 2, 2024), set to be active for the season opener out of everyone it drafted in Rounds 1 and 2 from 2020 through 2025:
Renardo Green will be the only #49ers player drafted by the team in first or second round from 2020-25 active for the season opener
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) September 9, 2026
This became magnified after the 49ers lost second-year defensive tackle Alfred Collins, selected in the second round in 2025, to a season-ending knee injury during practice ahead of the game.
It's absolutely a painful reality the Niners have to accept and attempt to rectify. All those other players drafted in the first two rounds between 2020 and 2025 either didn't pan out, suffered injuries or no longer are part of San Francisco's roster.
That's not exactly a strong way to build a team, and one can fairly question general manager John Lynch and Co.'s drafting strategies in the aftermath.
49ers have had too many 1st- and 2nd-round draft failures in recent years
Things might've been different if the 49ers opted not to trade up to the No. 3 overall spot in the 2021 draft, a pick used on quarterback Trey Lance—one of the biggest busts in Niners history. That cost Lynch first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, thereby diluting the chances of finding cornerstone talent.
But the remaining results effectively speak for themselves.
- DT Javon Kinlaw (Round 1, 2020): Frequently injured, left 49ers after four years
- WR Brandon Aiyuk (Round 1, 2020): Placed on reserve/left squad list in 2025
- QB Trey Lance (Round 1, 2021): Traded to Cowboys entering year three
- DE Drake Jackson (Round 2, 2022): Frequently injured, waived in May 2025
- WR Ricky Pearsall (Round 1, 2024): Frequently injured, will miss all of 2026 on IR
- CB Renardo Green (Round 2, 2024): Active
- DE Mykel Williams (Round 1, 2025): On PUP list, will miss at least the first four games of 2026
- DT Alfred Collins (Round 2, 2025): Will be placed on season-ending IR
One can hope San Francisco's dry spell of landing impact talent in the first two rounds changed last April. The 49ers' top pick from the 2026 draft, wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (Round 2), has impressed over spring and summer workouts. Perhape he bucks the trend.
Still, when considering how little cornerstone talent the Niners have drafted and developed during the previous years dating back to 2020, it makes sense why Lynch and Co. have been forced to rely so heavily on an aging roster.
Unless San Francisco figures out how to find better successes early in the draft, it'll likely be bit hard when that elderly crop of players wind up calling it a career.
The replacement options simply aren't there.
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