The San Francisco 49ers lost a lot of key players on the defensive side of the ball this offseason with linebacker Dre Greenlaw, edge rusher Leonard Floyd, defensive tackle Maliek Collins, safety Talanoa Hufanga, and cornerback Charvarius Ward all departing for new teams.
On some levels, this is a good draft to be needy on defense, particularly along the defensive line, but the moves to release quality veterans mean that the draft is more important than it has been in years, maybe since general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan joined the franchise.
Of course, even with 11 draft picks, the Niners aren’t going to use all of them to stockpile on defense, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate as to how they could improve the unit by doing so.
Using the 2025 Pro Football & Sports Network Mock Draft Simulator, this mock draft will do just that.
Each and every selection is used on a defensive player, meaning there are places of heavy overlap, but the goal was to find players who can step in and make a difference right away.
Sure, this often led to some minor reaches for players in order to fill certain positions while staying true to the exercise (and missing out on some potentially exciting offensive players), but conceptually, the idea is simple: improve a 49ers defense on all three levels.
Round 1, Pick 11
Jalon Walker, LB/EDGE, University of Georgia
This No. .11 overall selection is one that nobody can seem to figure out for San Francisco, mostly because outside of Miami quarterback Cam Ward (likely going No. 1 to the Titans) and Colorado Heisman-winning wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter (likely going somewhere in the top three to four), there isn’t much agreement on who should slide where.
But the 49ers’ two biggest needs are pretty clear (offensive or defensive line, with the latter trumping the former), which means for the purposes of this exercise, it has to be a defensive lineman.
With the trio of Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, Penn State edge Abdul Carter, and Texas A&M edge Shemar Stewart all taken, that left a couple of options, including Tennessee edge James Pearce Jr. and Georgia edge Mykel Williams.
In the end, the choice was to fill two voids with one selection in the form of Georgia edge Jalon Walker.
Walker won the 2024 Butkus Award given to the nation’s best linebacker and is coming off a career in Athens where he racked up 12.5 sacks (6.5 last season) and 89 total tackles. More importantly, he showed the ability to play as both an off-ball linebacker on base downs and then put his hand in the dirt and rush the passer when called upon.
This selection could allow the 49ers to replace Greenlaw and add depth to their pass-rushing unit with one choice.
Round 2, pick 43
Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
On one level, there are bigger needsthan cornerback, but given the propensity for NFL teams to play with three or more wide receivers these days, having another strong option next to Renardo Green and Deommodore Lenoir isn’t a bad outcome.
Earlier second-round selections in this simulation included Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, Marshall edge Mike Green, and Ohio State defensive tackle Tyliek Williams, with the next defender off the board coming at No. 47 (Ohio State edge J.T. Tuimoloau).
Morrison isn’t the biggest guy, a trend the 49ers would be continuing given their other starting cornerbacks, but he showed a good nose for the ball during his three years in South Bend, snagging nine picks and adding 18 pass breakups in 18 career games.
He could be the third option of the bench like Green was early in his tenure last season, especially if the Niners are comfortable continuing to bounce Lenoir inside on passing downs.
Morrison will need to continue to refine his coverage skills as a pro, but the Niners’ situation at the position may allow him a little leeway in 2025.
Round 3, Pick 75
Darius Alexander, DT, Toledo
Technically, the first true full-time addition to the D-line, Toledo defensive tackle Darius Alexander, is the pick at No. 75 overall.
Alexander is a big man (6-foot-4, 305 pounds), but ran a sub-5 40-yard time at the NFL Combine and showed good overall athleticism for a guy his size.
The combine performance, however, has people paying more attention to him, and so there’s a chance that he won’t even be available this late in the draft, even if the whispers about his age (he’ll turn 25 years old before Week 1) or his small-school pedigree impact that in some way.
If it isn’t Alexander, taken right after the 49ers’ selection was another defensive tackle, Texas’ Alfred Collins, who might be of interest at this point in the draft, although Collins is more of a physical specimen with untapped potential.
Round 3, Pick 100
Ashton Gillotte, EDGE, Louisville
With such a strong D-line class expected in this draft, it would behoove the 49ers to double up in some areas. So even if they feel good about Walker as an impact player on the edge as a pass-rusher, finding more depth there will be key.
Louisville edge Ashton Gillotte could help in that regard, especially if he’s asked to focus his time on honing his pass-rushing skills.
Gillotte was productive at Louisville, including an 11-sack campaign as a junior in 2023, and 41 tackles for loss across 51 games.
He will need to develop a larger arsenal of pass-rush moves to have success at the next level, but if that’s his sole focus as a rookie, then there will be plenty of opportunity for the former Cardinal to improve.
Round 4, Pick 113
Jonas Sanker, S, Virginia
Hufanga had a rough end to his 49ers’ career, but there’s no doubt that his signing with Denver leaves a hole in the back end of San Francisco’s defense.
For now, the safety duo appears to be Malik Mustapha and Ji’Ayir Brown, but the former is entering just his second season, while the latter suffered through an up-and-down sophomore campaign last year.
It’s possible one of them gets supplanted, either by a rookie who steals the job or by newly signed free agent Jason Pinnock, but the 49ers will also be looking to find additional depth at the position. And if it comes with a rookie contract, all the better.
Enter former Virginia safety Jonas Sanker with the Niners’ fourth-round selection.
Sanker is coming off of consecutive All-ACC years in Charlottesville, showing himself to be a willing tackler and someone can excel on special teams, something he’ll need to do to help him make the team in San Francisco.
Coverage is the area to watch out for, but it seems to come down to getting caught with his eyes in the backfield too often, something that can be coached up. Physically, he’s more than capable of being a solid pass defender.
Round 4, Pick 138
Demetrius Knight Jr, EDGE, South Carolina
Another D-lineman comes in for San Francisco’s second fourth-round pick, this time Demetrius Knight, an edge rusher out of South Carolina.
To say that Knight has been around is a bit of an understatement, as he started his college career at Georgia Tech back in 2019 where he would play for 3.5 seasons, choosing to redshirt and transfer as Geoff Collins was dismissed as head coach.
Knight transferred to Charlotte for a season, where he had his most productive season (96 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and three interceptions, one of which he scored on), before finishing at South Carolina last year, where he backed up most of that production at a higher level (82 tackles, two sacks, one pick).
He just turned 25 years old in January, so he’s also on the older side (Knight is already married with two children), but he’s a guy who can hang with the best of the best, as evidenced by his season in the SEC.
Knight also has an interesting family pedigree, according to NFL.com: “Cousin DeAngelo Hall was an All-American DB at Virginia Tech and played for 14 years in the NFL (3-time Pro Bowler). Distant cousin of R&B singers Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin.”
Round 5, Pick 147
Rylie Mills, DT, Notre Dame
Back to the Fightin’ Irish, well to choose another guy for the trenches.
Defensive tackle Rylie Mills was a productive player for the Golden Domers, especially once he became a full-time starter in 2023, and he’s coming off a senior season that saw him collect 7.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss from the interior.
Mills may also be able to prove himself a little versatile, as he could be a base-down defensive end who slides inside to rush the passer in nickel packages, something like what the 49ers did with Arik Armstead and Yetur Gross-Matos.
The prospect is a strong guy who could easily work in as a rotational piece while he builds up his repertoire a bit more, but in the mean time, there will be no doubt about his willingness to work and finish plays to the end.
Round 5, Pick 160
Simeon Barrow, DT, Miami (FL)
With two picks in the fifth round, why not double up at a position that is severely lacking in depth: interior D-line.
In this case, it’s former Miami Hurricane defensive tackle Simeon Barrow.
Simeon Barrow began his career at Michigan State where he stayed for three solid seasons before transferring to Miami for his senior season.
As a Spartan, he collected 110 tackles (19 for loss) and 10.5 sacks in 34 games, before finishing in Miami with 30 more tackles (eight for loss) and 5.5 sacks in 13 games.
The most notable area where Barrow stands out is as a run defender, something the 49ers need a great deal of help with based on the last two seasons, especially 2024, so even if Barrow is an immediate starter (and as a fifth-round pick, why would you expect him to be?), he can find a way to impact the game.
He also blocked two field goals in his career, both in 2023 at Michigan State, so he could be a useful player on special teams as well.
Round 7, Pick 227
Elijah Williams, EDGE, Morgan State
With no scheduled picks in the sixth round, the Niners triple up on selections in the seventh, starting with No. 227 overall.
Here, they once again add to the D-line and pass-rush depth with Morgan State edge Elijah Williams, a guy who just couldn’t stop winning awards and producing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Williams was a four-year starter for the Bears, where he totaled 216 tackles (including 52 for loss), 31 sacks, and three forced fumbles over 42 games.
Sure, Williams will have the small-school bias against him, but he’s nothing if not relentless and willing to work.
Williams is also a bit of a tweener in terms of size and position (Morgan State had him listed at 6-foot-3 and 270 pounds while he measured in at 6-foot-2 and 292 pounds at the combine), so it would be interesting to see where he’d excel at the next level.
But he ran a sub-5 40-yard dash and had 30 reps on the bench press, so might have the juice to make a spot for himself in the league, albeit as a rotational piece.
Round 7, Pick 249
Nazir Stackhouse, DT, Georgia
Another member of the Georgia defense enters the fray at the end of the final round with defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse.
Stackhouse is more of a brickhouse, measuring in at 6-foot-4, 327 pounds, who plays like the strong man that those numbers suggest him to be.
His usefulness is mostly as a nose tackle and a run defender, but the fact that he was a three-starter on those Georgia teams that won back-to-back national titles says a lot about his motor and willingness to do his job.
That will do him well, especially as a late seventh-round draft pick, but his ability to plug the middle of the defense, something the 49ers defense lacks, could help him stick around.
Round 7, Pick 252
Collin Oliver, LB, Oklahoma State
The Niners’ draft began with a hybrid linebacker/edge rusher, so it is only fitting they come full circle with the selection of another one with Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver.
In a lot of ways, he’s similar to Walker: undersized, but skilled, although Oliver’s area of expertise is more bursting off the edge than playing in space as an off-ball linebacker.
And so if Oliver were to stake his claim on an NFL roster spot, it would be as a situational pass-rusher and rotational piece, as well as finding his way as a special teams player while he hones his craft elsewhere.
He’s got the accolades and production (including 11.5 sacks as a freshman) during his time in Stillwater, so that’s something for the 49ers to build on if he’s added to the mix near the end of the 2025 NFL Draft.
