The San Francisco 49ers are in rare air, at least for this particular version of the franchise as led by general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Typically, the team has been in a position to think a year ahead when it comes to the NFL Draft. Is safety Talanoa Hufanga due to be a free agent and coming off a major injury? Draft Malik Mustapha to eventually take his spot. Same for left guard Aaron Banks, and the choice to draft Dominick Puni. Or think further back to even selecting Banks in the first place to ultimately replace Laken Tomlinson.
And yet the 2024 draft class turned out to be an anomaly, as the Niners not only saw most of their draft picks make the roster (save for sixth-rounder offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston), but each one made significant contributions in 2024 and all, except wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (for obvious reasons) and linebacker Tatum Bethune, appeared in at least 16 games.
Heading into 2025, the front office is being tasked with doing that again, as San Francisco made a lot of moves to discard a lot of the players from last season while not doing much adding in free agency, leaving the roster quite thin in various places.
All of this adds up to the 49ers needing to hit at a high rate on their 11 picks in April's draft. Otherwise, the 2025 campaign could be just as tough as last season.
With that in mind, the position groups that are the biggest needs are fairly clear.
No. 5: Running back
The running back room isn't the biggest need, as group (Christian McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo, Patrick Taylor, and Israel Abanikanda) could be good enough, especially if McCaffrey can stay healthy in 2025.
But one of the lessons of the 2024 season is that you cannot count on health, so adding a little depth is a good idea, but it isn't the highest of priorities.
Could the back end of this group be stronger? Absolutely. But the Niners have also proven themselves to be adept at finding good depth guys in the undrafted free-agent market, so drafting a guy isn't a necessity.
But, ultimately, what San Francisco needs is good football players who can contribute immediately, so if a useful running back is there when the 49ers are selecting somewhere on Day 3, then that could be a solid move.
No. 4: Wide receiver/tight end
A bit of a cheat here.
The 49ers' wide receiver and tight end groups are very top heavy (Brandon Aiyuk, when he returns, Jauan Jennings, and George Kittle) with plenty of question marks behind them (Pearsall, Jacob Cowing, and Luke Farrell in particular).
So it stands to reason that adding pass-catching depth, be it a receiver or tight end, would help for the short and long term.
After all, Aiyuk is coming off a major injury and is likely to miss at least a month, if not more, in 2025. Kittle, while showing no signs of slowing down just yet, is probably entering the back end of his career (one he can hopefully finish in the Bay Area).
Sure, Jennings was good last season, and newly signed Demarcus Robinson is a solid veteran option, but if the Niners learned nothing from 2024, it's that you can never have too many offensive weapons.
It's very possible San Francisco adds to both groups in this draft.
No. 3: Linebacker
Fred Warner is an All-Pro and the best player at his position in the entire league.
But, with Dre Greenlaw defecting to the Denver Broncos, the depth around Warner is both untested and thin.
Dee Winters looks like he'll have the first crack at replacing Greenlaw, but he's been inconsistent during his NFL career so far. Winters possesses a lot of Greenlaw's energy but isn't quite as skilled a player.
Behind him is Bethune, a seventh-round pick from a year ago who was mostly used on special teams as a rookie, Jalen Graham, Curtis Robinson, and free-agent addition Luke Gifford, another special teams-focused player.
Unlike other positions, there are bodies here. But finding a nailed on starter next to Warner would be ideal, allowing Winters to become the third starter who comes off the field in passing situations and for a guy like Gifford to focus on special teams.
No. 2: Offensive Line
Strangely, while offensive line comes in high, on this list, there's also a case to be made that the unit falls back into the "draft for the future" mantra that is usually San Francisco's modus operandi.
Tantamount to this happening, of course, is health, since that impacts everything differently. But assuming everyone is ready to go, the starters seem fairly well set here: Trent Williams, Ben Bartch (the only maybe here), Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, and Colton McKivitz.
Sure, the 49ers could stand to upgrade at center (Brendel is fine, but he's not getting any younger and is coming off maybe his worst season) and right tackle, but Shanahan is not turning his offense over to a rookie center, and the team clearly believes in McKivitz as a solid option.
However, McKivitz is a free agent after this season, and Brendel's contract is easy to get out of despite his free agency year not coming until 2026, so this is where the plan for the future element can come into play.
And, of course, Williams turns 37 years old in July and has yet to play a full complement of games since coming to San Francisco in 2020, so having a plan for the long-term successor at left tackle isn't a bad idea, although it shouldn't be the driving force of the 49ers' draft needs.
It's very likely the Niners draft at least one, maybe two, offensive lineman in this draft.
But, barring another surprise like Puni, they'll likely be depth or guys for the future.
No. 1: Defensive Line
This was an easy one.
Looking at the players currently on the roster for the defensive line doesn't paint a very happy picture for 2025, with only Nick Bosa, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jordan Elliott, and Kevin Givens feeling like they're locked into the roster at this point.
The team does have guys -- Sam Okuayinonu, Evan Anderson, Alex Barrett, and even Drake Jackson -- who could be in the mix, but these are guys you want on the third level of depth. Nnot necessarily the next man up to be a starter.
And so, the 49ers will need to behoove themselves of what is expected to be a strong draft for D-lineman and bring in impact players for this unit early and often.
That likely means taking the best lineman, either an edge rusher or interior guy, at No. 11 overall, and using two or three other picks throughout the weekend to bolster the position.
And these can't be developmental guys who need some seasoning. If 2025 is going to have a hope of being a bounce-back campaign, the Niners need to draft for immediate impact.
Otherwise, it will be yet another year where their once-formidable front seven will be less than that.
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