How five 49ers draft picks fit into current, future plans
Breaking down 49ers' vision for top five picks. Will De'Zhaun Stribling, Kaelon Black contribute right away?
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In the week leading up to the NFL draft, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch made it clear that his team, picking at No. 27, was probably going to be out of reach for any players it had given a first-round grade.
Lynch also indicated that the Niners would be happy to move down in a trade. The question then became whether another team would be willing to move up in a draft that seemed to lack sizzle.
The 49ers did find suitors and moved down and out of the first round with a pair of trades that set the table for an eight-player draft class, including a pair of surprises in receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (No. 33) and running back Kaelon Black (No. 90).
Those picks raised eyebrows among outside observers and left Lynch fielding questions about San Francisco's penchant for picking players who don't align with the public's consensus.
"That's where we had them, and we had a lot of conviction on each of them," Lynch said. "We got consensus in this building. That's the consensus I care about."
San Francisco's 2026 draft class can't be judged for at least a couple of years, but a closer investigation of the Niners' approach reveals a team attempting to thread the needle between players who can contribute on a ready-to-win team and those who can develop into bigger roles down the line.
"I think we have a chance for a couple guys possibly to start or have a chance to start," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "I think a number of these guys can be a big part or have a chance to start two years from now when you have some unrestricted free agents that we lose. I hope all eight guys just contribute."
Here's a look at how each of the 49ers' first five picks can help in 2026 and how they might fit in the future:
Stribling ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the combine in February. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images WR De'Zhaun Stribling How he can help now: With Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall and Christian Kirk in the top three spots, Stribling won't be asked to come in and start.
That should give him time to learn from Evans, the team's current X receiver, who signed a four-year deal that has no guarantees beyond 2026.
"[I've] always been a fan of him growing up," Stribling said. "I think it's a beautiful thing that I'll be able to share the receiver room with him and learn off of him."
In the meantime, Stribling brings the speed (he ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the combine) the Niners sorely lacked last season. In 2025, 30.3% of Stribling's routes at Ole Miss were vertical and 30.6% were hook routes, suggesting that he ran enough deep routes to keep defenses honest and then took advantage when they respected his deep ball ability.
That kind of player is a welcome addition to an offense that did not have a ball carrier reach even 20 miles per hour with the ball in his hands last season.
The vision for the future: It's not hard to look at Stribling and see a possible (better?) replacement for Jauan Jennings, who remains a free agent. Stribling brings value as a run blocker and had success in third-down situations, both of which were Jennings' hallmarks.
Stribling averaged 15.5 yards per reception and did not have a drop on 16 targets on third down in 2025. He turned 70% of those catches into a first down or touchdown.
The thing that could help Stribling play early is his run blocking prowess. Shanahan noted Stribling jumped out on the tape in that area, something the 49ers struggled with in 2025.
"I don't ever start watching receivers block, it all has to do with the football," Shanahan said. "But to hear the people who were further along than I was say he is the best blocker in the draft. He has an elite blocking skill."
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Edge Romello Height
How he can help now: The 49ers lost edge rusher Bryce Huff to retirement this offseason, leaving them in need of someone who can win with speed off the edge.
Enter Height, who had 10 sacks (third most in the Big 12) and 58 pressures (second most) for Texas Tech last year. With Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams expected to start and Sam Okuayinonu and Keion White offering depth at end, Height will probably begin in a specialized third-down role similar to what the Niners envisioned for Huff.
"He was on the ball rushing, so he looked like a defensive end and the way he played, the style he played is exactly what we want," Shanahan said. "Very relentless. We have a hair on fire grade, and he was the top of it."
The vision for the future: New 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris had success in previous stops with tweener types of pass rushers such as Byron Young in Los Angeles and Jalon Walker in Atlanta.
Those jobs are a bit more all-encompassing than just rushing the quarterback and can include dropping into coverage more frequently. It's something Height, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, may get to do in Year 1 but Shanahan hopes becomes more of his M.O. as time goes on.
"Raheem has a ton of experience in doing that," Shanahan said. "We'll see how he does use him. But I think he's similar to [those] guys."
Black, who went to Indiana, was drafted in the third round by the 49ers. Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire RB Kaelon Black How he can help now: At the NFL's annual league meeting in March, Shanahan was adamant about trying to find ways to spell star running back Christian McCaffrey, who is about to turn 30 and had a league-leading 413 touches last year.
That, plus the Niners' insistence on drafting a running back in the middle rounds, led them to select Black even with Jordan James and Isaac Guerendo on the roster.
In Black, the 49ers are getting a productive, powerful back with experience in their outside zone scheme. He rushed for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025 despite splitting time for Indiana.
"You can't help but love the kid and everything he stands for," Lynch said. "And then you turn on the film, and we really feel like he can help us in a big way and we're really excited to have landed him."
At running back, the Niners were fortunate healthwise last season with McCaffrey making it through the season. Black provides additional insurance with James the current favorite to be No. 2 behind McCaffrey.
The vision for the future: Things haven't gone well for most of the running backs -- Joe Williams, Trey Sermon, Tyrion Davis-Price, Guerendo -- the Niners have selected in the middle rounds. The five the team has selected in Rounds 3-5 under Shanahan and Lynch have combined for 707 rushing yards in their careers.
Coincidentally, San Francisco has been more successful finding running backs later. Undrafted free agent Matt Breida outperformed Williams, Elijah Mitchell (sixth round) was better than Sermon, and undrafted Jordan Mason earned a role bigger than Davis-Price.
The Niners will eventually need to think about life after McCaffrey. They hope that isn't soon, but they also hope that Black can break that streak of running back letdowns.
"We don't think it's relevant [to this year]," Shanahan said. "But hopefully we have better luck."
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DT Gracen Halton
How he can help now: The 49ers reloaded at defensive tackle in the 2025 draft with Alfred Collins and C.J. West, then traded for Osa Odighizuwa to bolster the interior pass rush. In Halton, the Niners found another interior player who can get after the quarterback.
For Oklahoma, Halton had the fourth-highest pressure rate (11.7%) among defensive tackles in the FBS in 2025, and his 25 pressures were second most in the SEC. Halton compiled those numbers in a rotational role, but that's probably all the Niners will ask of him in 2026 anyway.
"Plays the style that we like to play," Lynch said. "Plays in the opposing offenses' backfield, attacking style, team captain, really impactful player."
West and Collins should do a lot of the work against the run with Odighizuwa starting at 3-technique and Halton backing him up as a rookie.
The vision for the future: San Francisco believes Halton is scratching the surface on what he can become based on how he tested athletically. He ran the third-fastest 40 among defensive tackles at the combine (4.82 seconds) and his 4.79-second shuttle was fourth.
Halton compares favorably to Odighizuwa, and the chance to learn behind him should be beneficial in helping him reach his potential.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images OL Carver Willis How he can help now: Of all the players the Niners drafted, Willis might be the one with the clearest path to starting as a rookie. Although he played both tackle spots in college, Willis projects as a guard for the 49ers, who have an opening on the left side.
Robert Jones, Brett Toth and Connor Colby are the current candidates for that job, and their experience gives them a head start. But Willis will at least be in the mix.
"We'll start him off inside," Shanahan said. "See if he can do it there and give him a chance to try to earn that spot."
The vision for the future: The 49ers would love for Willis to win that role and hold it down for the long haul. Barring that, it seems unlikely Willis would move back outside, but it also wouldn't be the first time the Niners had plans for a tackle to move inside only for circumstances to force him to stay outside.
Colton McKivitz and Jaylon Moore were supposed to get a look at guard, but injuries at tackle forced them into playing and they never moved. That's unlikely to happen with Willis but it can't be ruled out as the 49ers search for long-term answers on a line with plenty of future questions.
