The 49ers’ 2024 campaign revealed they need help on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and our newest mock NFL Draft addresses this.
For years, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan prioritized both the offensive and defensive lines when it came to roster building.
Recently, though, the focus has centered less on the line of scrimmage, which has resulted in patchwork additions on both sides of the ball. Sure, a team with an array of superstar playmaking talent requires corners to be cut elsewhere. And it’s understandable why Lynch and Shanahan made efforts to address other areas of need, such as the defensive backfield in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But, in the wake of the Niners going 6-11 and finishing dead last in the NFC West once 2024 was finalized, Lynch and Shanahan have to get back to their roots.
Officially, San Francisco owns the No. 11 overall pick, the first of seven total guaranteed selections* (full list of compensatory picks will be announced in March) that’ll be used to not only reinforce and upgrade the offensive and defensive lines but to also bolster other areas of need.
Using Pro Football Focus’ mock draft widget, it’s time to reconstruct the 49ers, particularly down in the trenches.
*We’ll include the predicted compensatory picks below.
49ers’ first 7-round mock NFL Draft of the 2025 offseason
Grabbing an offensive lineman in Round 1 is neither flashy nor sexy, but it’s awfully smart. Especially considering the Niners should be seeking an upgrade over right tackle Colton McKivitz and a long-term replacement for 36-year-old left tackle Trent Williams.
LSU’s Will Campbell is a top-10 prospect, but an inevitable early run on quarterbacks could push him down the board to No. 11.
The 6-foot-6 lineman is outstanding in both pass protection and run blocking, making him an easy day-one starter.
Should San Francisco lose left guard Aaron Banks to free agency, giving Campbell some rookie-year reps in Banks’ stead would be a plug-and-play way to improve the O-line immediately, while his eventual upside would be to replace Williams on the blind side.
The 49ers sorely missed having a strong interior presence on the D-line this season, especially after Pro Bowler Javon Hargrave was lost to a triceps injury early. Plus, with Hargrave on the wrong side of 30 years old, the need to get younger and cheaper is there. Especially if there’s someone with a higher upside than both Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott.
Tennessee’s Omar Norman-Lott, a Northern California native who grew up in Sacramento, has the versatility to play a number of different roles. The 6-foot-3 lineman boasts a quick first step and owns a mean streak that’ll help wreak havoc on opponents’ interior lines.
Should Norman-Lott reach his potential early, it’ll make things easier on All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa. while improving the interior defense as a whole.
One of the main problems the Niners dealt with over the course of 2024 was at linebacker where Dre Greenlaw’s absence was sorely felt. Sure, the maturation of depth backers like Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune provide some hope, yet the need to find an adequate partner to pair with All-Pro Fred Warner was made even more apparent when Greenlaw was again shelved on injured reserve after a brief return from an Achilles tear in last February’s Super Bowl.
Greenlaw’s pending free agency looms large. While San Francisco unquestionably wants him back, there’s no guarantee Greenlaw would take a hometown discount despite his recent injury history.
Should Greenlaw depart, Oregon’s Jeffrey Bassa would be an excellent pickup.
Bassa, a converted safety, called the Ducks’ defensive plays and has the coverage abilities needed for a modern-day linebacker.
The 49ers are already going with a youth movement in their secondary, committing big money to Deommodore Lenoir while heavily featuring 2024 rookies, Malik Mustapha and Renardo Green.
That points to veteran corner Charvarius Ward being shown the door in free agency this offseason, mandating a replacement and someone who can adequately fill his shoes sooner than later.
At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Georgia’s Daylen Everette might need to bulk up a bit to adequately play on the boundary, but he has good recovery speed and would be a preferred fit inside a zone-style defense.
Safety is a sneaky-big need for the Niners this offseason, especially with Talanoa Hufanga a pending free agent who has dealt with injuries in 2024 and considering Ji’Ayir Brown’s second-year regression.
That leaves Mustapha as the only likable option who’s on the roster in 2025 and pushes the need to grab a safety higher up the list.
Michigan will have plenty of draft-eligible prospects grabbed this April, particularly on defense, and safety Rod Moore should have no trouble getting his name called by the beginning of day three.
Moore’s positional versatility, speed and football IQ would make him an ideal target.
McKivitz might have been the target of wrath directed at the O-line, but one could make the argument center Jake Brendel is the weakest link.
USC center Jonah Monheim might be one of the safer day-three O-line picks in this year’s class, and the fact he played multiple spots for the Trojans over his collegiate career could at least make him a useful commodity right away until the time is right to replace Brendel.
On the surface, it wouldn’t seem as if Shanahan would want yet another running back to add to the mix, especially with All-Pro Christian McCaffrey poised to return from an injury-plagued 2024 campaign and Isaac Guerendo impressing his rookie year.
However, San Francisco deployed a league-high five running backs over the season, and Jordan Mason is a restricted free agent, too, making this position a bigger question mark than originally thought.
Grabbing a bullnose tailback like Penn State’s Kaytron Allen with a comp pick at the end of Round 5 is a good insurance policy.
Perhaps this is to placate All-Pro George Kittle. But grabbing an Iowa tight end on day three of the draft seems to be a quality strategy, especially considering how deep this year’s class is at the position.
Luke Lachey might not have the blocking prowess or ceiling of Kittle, but the former is a quality pass catcher whose versatility and soft hands will intrigue Shanahan.
Plus, grabbing the 6-foot-6 prospect might finally solve the seemingly endless quest the 49ers have endured to find an adequate No. 2 to Kittle.
Injuries to the O-line prompted the 49ers to go with patchwork units down the stretch, which was far from ideal and not exactly the best way to get back into the postseason.
Kentucky’s Jager Burton is far better in run support than pass protection, but at least he could serve as an immediate depth piece and work in progress to guard against injury attrition.
The Niners sorely lack pass-rushing depth behind Bosa and Leonard Floyd, and it’s becoming clear Drake Jackson and Robert Beal Jr. aren’t going to provide too many answers.
Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver is far too undersized (6-foot-2 and 240 pounds) to be an every-down player, and he’s likely going to be limited to situational pass-rushing duties as a result.
That said, Oliver’s first step is undeniable, and grabbing as many pass-rushers as possible is never a bad strategy.
Even at the end of Round 7.
