With their 2025 season now a thing of the past following last Saturday's 41-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers are now fully focused on the 2026 offseason, which is already off to a shaky (but fully expected) start, as defensive coordinator Robert Saleh agreed earlier this week to become the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
But beyond the search for Saleh's replacement, the Niners will have a lot of decisions to make this offseason, as they've got more than 25 players set to enter free agency, a list that includes wideouts Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne, offensive linemen Ben Bartch and Spencer Burford, defensive linemen Jordan Elliott and Yetur Gross-Matos, tight end Jake Tonges (who's obviously become much more important with George Kittle's Achilles injury), punter Thomas Morstead, and kicker Eddy Pineiro.
So, there could be plenty of holes to fill on every single unit.
Now, exactly where San Francisco will need the most help when the NFL Draft rolls around obviously depends on how the organization handles free agency.
But in his first mock draft of 2026, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. believes the 49ers won't address a current need, but instead one they'll have a year from now, that being the need to replace superstar left tackle Trent Williams.
Mel Kiper Jr. has 49ers selecting Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu with their 1st-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft
Given the combination of their 12-5 regular-season record and their Divisional Round defeat, the 49ers own the 27th overall pick in the first round of the draft.
And with that selection, Kiper has them taking Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu:
"I recently moved Lomu into my top 25 rankings," Kiper wrote. "He is really good in both pass protection and run blocking, and his quickness is going to be an asset in the NFL. Could he be the heir apparent for Trent Williams at left tackle?
"Williams will turn 38 this summer and has just one year left on his deal. San Francisco can't kick the can down the road too much further on its long-term plan. Lomu had 24 career starts and allowed just three sacks during that time -- all in 2024."
Some may not like the Niners using their first-round pick on a player who may not contribute right away, but it's certainly not out of the ordinary to get out ahead of a need a year in advance, especially on the offensive line. Besides, San Francisco could always move Lomu to left guard, possibly to replace Burford, and then move him back to tackle once Williams retires.
Now, there's no guarantee that Williams will retire after next season, which, as Kiper mentioned, is the last season of the three-year, $82.66 million restructured extension he signed just ahead of the 2024 campaign. And the reason for that is because he's still playing at an extremely high level, ranking third among all tackles in 2025 with a 91.5 overall PFF grade.
But even if Williams does play another year, having Lomu around will still be beneficial, as his athleticism is off the charts, which one would assume will be on full display at the Scouting Combine. And as Kiper mentioned, he's a phenomenal blocker both in the running game and the passing game, which Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy would certainly appreciate, given some of the issues the Niners' O-line faced over the last few months.
Kiper will likely change his pick several times for San Francisco in the many mock drafts he'll put out over the next few months, but if this one sticks, 49ers fans should be on board with it.