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\nAfter grabbing Mike Evans and Christian Kirk in free agency, the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 top priority in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft likely shifted from wide receiver to something else.<\/p>\n
It\u2019d be interesting if the Niners went this route.<\/p>\n
\nAfter grabbing Mike Evans and Christian Kirk in free agency, the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 top priority in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft likely shifted from wide receiver to something else.<\/p>\n
Perhaps a pass-rusher or maybe even an offensive lineman.<\/p>\n
But the Niners may be thinking something else, at least based on relative inactivity within their secondary at the start of the league new year.<\/p>\n
Particularly at safety.<\/p>\n
San Francisco bade farewell to veteran Jason Pinnock, leaving Ji\u2019Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha as the most-experienced options at the position, although neither of the two incumbents exactly flashed enough prowess to ensure they\u2019ll start over the course of 2026. And both are more traditional in-the-box defensive backs anyway.<\/p>\n
That could open the door for general manager John Lynch to do something his franchise hasn\u2019t done since 2014: draft a safety in Round 1.<\/p>\n
Should the 49ers do this, there\u2019s an ideal candidate who may just be available at No. 27 overall: Oregon\u2019s Dillon Thieneman.<\/p>\n
49ers may easily pivot to Dillon Thieneman in Round 1 of NFL Draft<\/strong><\/p>\n Pinnock was the closest thing the Niners had to a true deep-ball safety last season, as neither Mustapha nor Brown possessed the ranginess to cover extensive areas of the field.<\/p>\n Unless the Niners fully trust second-year pro Marques Sigle to take a next-level leap, they\u2019ll be exploring other options.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where Thieneman comes into play.<\/p>\n Having ran a 4.35 40-yard time at the NFL Combine, there\u2019s no question about the 6-foot, 201-pounder\u2019s speed, and his ability to occupy several different spots within the defensive backfield will work to his advantage.<\/p>\n Bleacher Report currently has Thieneman ranked as the No. 25 overall prospect, meaning a slip to 27th overall is certainly a possibility, as is the chance he gets drafted way before San Francisco is even sniffing the clock. But, given the fluidity of expected prospects between Nos. 20 and 40 in this year\u2019s class, it wouldn\u2019t be a shocker to see the former Duck slip.<\/p>\n Especially considering teams rarely use a first-round pick on safeties.<\/p>\n So, while the 49ers are largely linked to either pass-rushers or offensive linemen in Round 1, the pressing need at safety might be too good to overlook if Thieneman somehow falls into their lap.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019d be interesting if the Niners went this route. After grabbing Mike Evans and Christian Kirk in free agency, the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 top priority in the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n