The 49ers must look to the NFL Draft to restock an aging and increasingly expensive roster in 2025 and beyond.
The San Francisco 49ers managed to survive the debacle of aggressively trading up for quarterback Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft, ultimately finding their franchise starter in Brock Purdy with the draft's final selection a year later.
Lance was ultimately traded off to the Dallas Cowboys just ahead of the 2023 regular season in exchange for a fourth-round pick, ending that experiment, yet general manager John Lynch found himself without a first-round pick in 2022 and 2023, finally getting back into Round 1 in 2024.
Things finally returned to normal.
With an aging roster and plenty of increasingly expensive player contracts, San Francisco needs to hit on at least a few prospects in 2025 and 2026, though.
Let's take a look at what draft picks it will have at its disposal this year, next year and even beyond.
List of 49ers NFL Draft picks in 2025
- Round 1, No. 11 overall
- Round 2, No. 43 overall
- Round 3, No. 75 overall
- Round 3, No. 100 overall (compensatory)
- Round 4, No. 113 overall
- Round 4, No. 138 overall (compensatory)
- Round 5, No. 147 overall (from Commanders)
- Round 5, No. 160 overall (from Vikings)
- Round 7, No. 227 overall (from Panthers)
- Round 7, No. 249 overall (compensatory)
- Round 7, No. 252 overall (compensatory)
The NFL will award the 49ers a compensatory third-round pick in 2025 as part of the Rooney Rule, rewarding them for the Houston Texans hiring former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their head coach in 2024.
The Washington Commanders' fifth-round selection comes via the trade of wide receiver Deebo Samuel, while the Minnesota Vikings' fifth-rounder this year (along with a 2026 sixth-round pick) was acquired by sending running back Jordan Mason and a sixth-round pick back in exchange.
Additionally, the Niners engaged in a seventh-round pick swap with the Carolina Panthers for former kicker Zane Gonzalez, who never made the team's 53-man roster in 2023 once fellow kicker Jake Moody was selected in Round 3 of that year's draft.
Also, the team forfeited its fifth-round pick in 2025 for a miscalculation of payroll, as reported by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
The #49ers will forfeit their original fifth-round selection in the 2025 Draft and will have their 2024 fourth-round selection (#131) move to the end of the fourth round, behind the compensatory picks (#135).
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 18, 2024
This action resulted from a league review that found administrative…
Currently, the 49ers own all of their other picks in the previous rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Compensatory selections for a net loss of qualifying free agents, or because of Rooney Rule hires, won't be determined until the spring of 2025.
49ers NFL Draft picks in 2026 and beyond
The Niners currently own one each in Rounds 1 through 6 in 2026, sending their seventh to the Texans in exchange for defensive tackle Khalil Davis at the 2024 trade deadline.
- Round 1
- Round 2
- Round 3
- Round 3 (compensatory)
- Round 4
- Round 4 (compensatory)
- Round 5
- Round 6
- Round 6 (from Vikings)
- Round 7 (compensatory)
- Round 7 (compensatory)
San Francisco is expected to receive the maximum of four comp picks in 2026 after a qualifying net loss of free agents.