49ers bold predictions for 2026 NFL Draft class during rookie season

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49ers bold predictions for 2026 NFL Draft class during rookie season

Jaren Kawada, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Apr 30, 2026 ·

6 min read

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49ers bold predictions for 2026 NFL Draft class during rookie season appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Following a flurry of trades, the San Francisco 49ers ended the 2026 NFL Draft with eight new players to add to their offseason rosters. The 49ers were one of the few teams to relinquish their first-round selection and did not make a pick until taking Ole Miss receiver De'Zhaun Stribling with the first pick of the second round.

Stribling was not expected to hear his name called until Round 3 or Round 4, making the 49ers' first pick one of the most surprising of the draft. General manager John Lynch kept fans guessing by taking Indiana running back Kaelon Black in the third round to add a fifth tailback to his roster.

For better or worse, opinions are already varying on San Francisco 's 2026 draft class. They received an A- from NFL.com's Chad Reuter, but a league-worst "D" grade from Pro Football Focus.

Considering the disappointing season the 49ers just endured, an erratic draft class was not exactly what fans wanted to see.

Yet, despite some of the negativity, Lynch clearly gave his team a few intriguing pieces to add to the puzzle. They may not have been the players fans expected to end up with, but with the momentum with which they ended the 2025 season, the 49ers are always primed to make another Super Bowl run. Few coaches are better at getting the most out of their players than Kyle Shanahan.

De'Zhaun Stribling will have 1,000-yard receiving season

It was a complete surprise to hear the 49ers make De'Zhaun Stribling the sixth receiver taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, especially since they traded down from No. 30, which the New York Jets used on Omar Cooper Jr. But regardless of what pre-draft analysts say, fans have learned better than to doubt Shanahan's ability to scout wide receiver talent.

The 49ers have yet to make any official decisions on Brandon Aiyuk , but their taking Stribling this early in the draft suggests they are ready to move on. It also indicates that they might not be as confident in their top free agent acquisitions, 32-year-old Mike Evans and 29-year-old Christian Kirk .

Stribling will begin his career coming off the bench, but he will get his opportunities. The 49ers always get the most out of their rookie wideouts, including Ricky Pearsall , who sustained a life-threatening injury just months before his inaugural season began.

Without a healthy Aiyuk, San Francisco did not have a consistent downfield home-run hitter entering the draft. That is one area in which Stribling is already NFL-ready. The 6-foot-2 Hawaiian ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash and averaged 15.6 yards per catch in his final three seasons of college football. Scouts had concerns about his route-running ability, but he is one of the best in the class at beating defenders over the top and with the ball in his hands.

As long as either Pearsall or Evans remains on the field — a big if — Stribling will never consistently face opposing top cornerbacks, nor would teams be able to shadow him with a safety over the top. Stribling might not catch a ton of passes in year one, but he will get the opportunity to be San Francisco's big-play threat out of the gate.

By the time Week 6 rolls around, the 49ers' drafting Stribling at No. 33 will no longer look like a reach.

Ephesians Prysock becomes 49ers' CB2

The 49ers' cornerbacks are not bad; they are just not as dominant as fans have become accustomed to. The situation made the position one to monitor entering the draft, but it made sense that the team waited until the fourth round before taking Washington's Ephesians Prysock.

Prysock joins Deommodore Lenoir , Renardo Green , Upton Stout , Nate Hobbs and Jack Jones in the 49ers' cornerback room. San Francisco also has Darrell Luter Jr. , Tre Tomlinson , Eli Apple and Jakob Robinson on its offseason roster.

Prysock will face an uphill battle to see the field as a rookie, particularly with Stout coming off an encouraging rookie season. Green, a 2024 second-rounder, also impressed in his first year as a full-time starter.

Yet, the 49ers still decided to invest a mid-round pick in Prysock due to their slight concerns at outside cornerback. They used Lenoir and Green on the outside in 2025 and produced solid numbers, but after performing like an All-Pro during his early years in the slot, Lenoir struggled at times out wide. They added the experienced Hobbs and Jones in free agency, but neither is a confident option at this point in their careers.

Prysock began the season as Washington's CB2, but he ended up being the Huskies' top cornerback for most of the year while All-Big Ten teammate Tacario Davis battled injuries. He more than held his own, ending the 2025 season as the ninth-best outside cornerback in the Big Ten on Pro Football Focus. The physical Prysock recorded 48 tackles, seven pass breakups and one interception in his senior season.

The 49ers will take their time with Prysock and have no reason to rush him onto the field. But by the end of the year, he could easily become the team's second-best outside cornerback. He continues to improve every year and now works in one of the league's most structured defenses under former Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris.

Romello Height records at least 8.0 sacks

Many expected the 49ers to target an edge-rusher in the first round, but they did not address the position until taking Texas Tech product Romello Height in Round 3 . As a teammate of No. 2 overall pick David Bailey, Height flew under the radar, yet still ended his five-year college career with 11.5 sacks in 2025.

After managing just 6.5 sacks in his first four years of college football, Height looked like a completely different player in his lone season at Texas Tech. A lot of that has to do with playing alongside a talent like Bailey, which caused many to lower his stock despite an impressive highlight reel.

Fortunately for Height, he gets to play with another dominant edge-rusher on the 49ers, teaming up with former Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa .

Height is too inconsistent to routinely win reps against the best left tackles in the league, but he will never have to face that pressure while sharing the field with Bosa. The 49ers also have the luxury of rotating him in as a pass-rushing specialist to minimize concerns about his run defense early in his career.

The 49ers have been looking for another solid edge-rusher to pair with Bosa for years, and might have found their guy in Height. Unless 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams makes a massive year-two leap, Height might already be the second-most-talented pass-rusher on the roster.

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