NFC West · 2026 Draft Class

San Francisco 49ers 2026 NFL Draft Class

Every 49ers selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, the needs they entered the weekend with, and the trades that reshaped their board.

Compiled by the NFL Mock Draft Simulator research desk · Front office at the time: John Lynch (GM), Kyle Shanahan (HC)

The class

San Francisco 49ers made 8 selections in the 2026 draft, opening with De'Zhaun Stribling, a wide receiver out of Ole Miss, at No. 33 overall.

The class skewed toward wide receiver. In total they drafted 7 different positions.

Going into the weekend our board had their priority needs listed as Defensive Tackle, Edge Rusher, Interior Offensive Line, Offensive Tackle, Wide Receiver. They addressed 4 of their 5 pre-draft needs directly: Defensive Tackle, Edge Rusher, Offensive Tackle, Wide Receiver. Left unaddressed: Interior Offensive Line.

Their best value relative to the consensus board was Gracen Halton at No. 107, 15 slots later than the industry board had him ranked (92).

Draft capital

49ers draft capital broke down as 0 Day 1 picks, 3 on Day 2 and 5 on Day 3. 2 of those were compensatory selections, awarded for free-agency losses in the prior cycle. 6 were slots they did not own when the weekend began, acquired by trade. Entering Day 2 without a first-round pick changes the arithmetic considerably: a team in that position is buying volume rather than a single premium outcome.

Pick by pick

Every 49ers selection, with where it landed against our consensus board and against their own pre-draft needs list.

• Round 2, No. 33: 49ers moved on De'Zhaun Stribling on Day 2, 111 slots ahead of his board ranking, which is conviction rather than value.
• Round 3, No. 70: 49ers took Romello Height on Day 2, within 12 slots of his board ranking of 82. Edge Rusher was their No. 2 listed need.
• Round 3, No. 90: 49ers moved on Kaelon Black on Day 2, 115 slots early, which is what a team does when it has decided the board is wrong. Running Back was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 4, No. 107: 49ers took Gracen Halton on Day 3, within 15 slots of his board ranking of 92. It was their single highest-priority need going in.
• Round 4, No. 127: 49ers took Carver Willis on Day 3, within 2 slots of his board ranking of 129.
• Round 4, No. 139: 49ers took Ephesians Prysock on Day 3, within 16 slots of his board ranking of 155. Cornerback was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 5, No. 154: 49ers spent a late-round flier on Jaden Dugger, a board-rank 343 player. Linebacker was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 5, No. 179: 49ers took Enrique Cruz on Day 3, a player who sat outside our ranked board.

Pre-draft needs

Our needs assessment for the 49ers going into the 2026 draft, ordered by priority. This is the list the class above is measured against.

Draft-day trades

• With Miami Dolphins: sent No. 27 (R1), No. 138 (R4); received No. 30 (R1), No. 90 (R3).
• With New York Jets: sent No. 30 (R1); received No. 33 (R2), No. 179 (R5).
• With Cleveland Browns: sent No. 58 (R2), No. 152 (R5); received No. 70 (R3), No. 107 (R4).
• With Baltimore Ravens: sent No. 133 (R4); received No. 154 (R5).
• With Dallas Cowboys: sent nothing; received No. 152 (R5).

Related

• Round 2 results: every other pick made around the 49ers' first selection.
• Position rankings for the groups they drafted: Wide Receiver, Edge Rusher, Running Back, Defensive Tackle, Offensive Tackle, Cornerback, Linebacker.
• The 2026 consensus big board: where every one of these players ranked before the draft.
• Every trade from the 2026 draft: the full ledger, including the 49ers' moves.
• Steals and reaches: which picks diverged most from the board, and what that gap means.
• The draft by the numbers: positional supply, school production and how draft capital was distributed.

More on the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers franchise hub carries the current front office and needs, plus every other class we cover.