2025 nfl draft thread

[clyde21]

Looks like a lot of athletic OL this draft so I'd be surprised if we don't at least use one pick on an IOL or two.

I think the odds of going DL at 11 are pretty high at this point since it seems like the plan is to overhaul the defense this offseason but I can see the 3rd and 4th rounds being a sweet spot for picking up OL.

yea, i don't see us taking an OL at 11 tbh at this point, problem is other than Mason Graham I don't see a DL worth it, there is some talk that we really like Derrick Harmon but 11 is a bit rich. that's just give me Jihaad Campbell at 11 and address the interior on day two.

The thing about Shanahan/Lynch is they don't seem to mind reaching for guys they like.

true, Derrick Harmon wouldn't be the worst pick but I'd prefer a trade down then taking him. but at the end of the day none of us really know where teams have these players ranked so we can talk about Harmon being a reach at 11 but if half the NFL is high on him and thinks he's a top 12 pick it doesn't matter.

it's just frustrating because we've invested so much in the DL in both the draft (Buckner, Armstead, Thomas, Bosa, Kinlaw) and FA (Hargrave) and we have nothing to show for it other than Bosa at this point.

[Pattersonca65]

Wyatt Milum has Kyle's profile for interior guys

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PFF has him as the best college run blocker and zone scheme. That is Shanahan's dream player whether he can pass block or not, but he also considered a good pass blocker.

[clyde21]

Wyatt Milum has Kyle's profile for interior guys

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PFF has him as the best college run blocker and zone scheme. That is Shanahan's dream player whether he can pass block or not, but he also considered a good pass blocker.

yea, as an OG his RAS is over 9, so def a Kyle type interior guy.

i'm not *too* worried about the interior tbh, we can find functional guys like Milum in the 3rd/4th. i'm more worried about the Tackle spots, if we don't take Membou at 11 or he's not available there is not much else we do other than take a swing on a tackle later.

i do think a guy like Logan Brown is a Kyle guy at tackle too so we'll see. there are some names out there that I'm sure the FO will isolate as good fits. the tricky part is what we do with our 1st/2nd.

[Pattersonca65]

Wyatt Milum has Kyle's profile for interior guys

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PFF has him as the best college run blocker and zone scheme. That is Shanahan's dream player whether he can pass block or not, but he also considered a good pass blocker.

yea, as an OG his RAS is over 9, so def a Kyle type interior guy.

i'm not *too* worried about the interior tbh, we can find functional guys like Milum in the 3rd/4th. i'm more worried about the Tackle spots, if we don't take Membou at 11 or he's not available there is not much else we do other than take a swing on a tackle later.

i do think a guy like Logan Brown is a Kyle guy at tackle too so we'll see. there are some names out there that I'm sure the FO will isolate as good fits. the tricky part is what we do with our 1st/2nd.

with the 49ers needing to address numerous positions on defense I would not be surprised if they address other than DT/OT but I think it will be one of those.

[CrimsonCrew]

11 is a tough spot this year. This draft is not top-heavy (top-light?) - though it's very deep - and the players who many consider "first rounders" in terms of talent who may be available at that pick play lower value positions (RB Jeanty, TE, Warren, S Starks, even LB Campbell). The OTs and DLs who are likely to be available in that range are all flawed players who may not be much different from what we could get at 43.

I could live with OL Campbell (hard to call him an OT at this point) or OT Banks at 11, though I wouldn't be thrilled as I might have been before we got combine measurements (Campbell's arms and Banks' somewhat disappointing testing numbers). Simmons is intriguing, but the injury scares me.

At DL, I just don't know how I would feel about any of these guys. My top choice at DE might be James Pearce, who has unique explosiveness, but he's light and maybe a little stiff. Mike Green is undersized, has short arms, and has some pretty serious off-field issues as I understand it. Shemar Stewart is flying up boards after the combine, but despite the measurables, he has no moves or instincts at the top of his pass rush, and had virtually no sack production in college. Mykel Williams is another physical freak who wasn't an impact pass rusher in college.

At DL, I could live with Harmon or Walter Nolen, but neither is a sure thing. Harmon had one year where he was great against the run and bad against the pass, then this past year he was great against the pass and bad against the run. Nolen is an undersized one-year wonder with some work ethic concerns.

Interestingly, and it kind of cuts both ways, it's worth noting that Nolen was only okay at Texas A&M (where Shemar Stewart and others have not put up stats), but then took off when he transferred to Ole Miss. Could explain some of his struggles, and the statistical struggles of Stewart, Scournton, etc.

As said, if Membou and Graham are gone at 11, my first thought is to trade down, but I'm not confident there will be a market. Could be shaping up as another draft where our first-round pick is widely perceived as a reach.

[CrimsonCrew]

Wyatt Milum has Kyle's profile for interior guys

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PFF has him as the best college run blocker and zone scheme. That is Shanahan's dream player whether he can pass block or not, but he also considered a good pass blocker.

yea, as an OG his RAS is over 9, so def a Kyle type interior guy.

i'm not *too* worried about the interior tbh, we can find functional guys like Milum in the 3rd/4th. i'm more worried about the Tackle spots, if we don't take Membou at 11 or he's not available there is not much else we do other than take a swing on a tackle later.

i do think a guy like Logan Brown is a Kyle guy at tackle too so we'll see. there are some names out there that I'm sure the FO will isolate as good fits. the tricky part is what we do with our 1st/2nd.

I agree at IOL, with the exception that Brendel was maybe the biggest problem on our entire team last year, and there isn't a clear plan to do anything about that. But we aren't very likely to find an immediate starter at center in the draft, so that position may just be what it is. Ugh.

[clyde21]

11 is a tough spot this year. This draft is not top-heavy (top-light?) - though it's very deep - and the players who many consider "first rounders" in terms of talent who may be available at that pick play lower value positions (RB Jeanty, TE, Warren, S Starks, even LB Campbell). The OTs and DLs who are likely to be available in that range are all flawed players who may not be much different from what we could get at 43.

I could live with OL Campbell (hard to call him an OT at this point) or OT Banks at 11, though I wouldn't be thrilled as I might have been before we got combine measurements (Campbell's arms and Banks' somewhat disappointing testing numbers). Simmons is intriguing, but the injury scares me.

At DL, I just don't know how I would feel about any of these guys. My top choice at DE might be James Pearce, who has unique explosiveness, but he's light and maybe a little stiff. Mike Green is undersized, has short arms, and has some pretty serious off-field issues as I understand it. Shemar Stewart is flying up boards after the combine, but despite the measurables, he has no moves or instincts at the top of his pass rush, and had virtually no sack production in college. Mykel Williams is another physical freak who wasn't an impact pass rusher in college.

At DL, I could live with Harmon or Walter Nolen, but neither is a sure thing. Harmon had one year where he was great against the run and bad against the pass, then this past year he was great against the pass and bad against the run. Nolen is an undersized one-year wonder with some work ethic concerns.

Interestingly, and it kind of cuts both ways, it's worth noting that Nolen was only okay at Texas A&M (where Shemar Stewart and others have not put up stats), but then took off when he transferred to Ole Miss. Could explain some of his struggles, and the statistical struggles of Stewart, Scournton, etc.

As said, if Membou and Graham are gone at 11, my first thought is to trade down, but I'm not confident there will be a market. Could be shaping up as another draft where our first-round pick is widely perceived as a reach.

this post summarizes why if Graham/Membou are gone at 11 (and it looks like that will be the case for both) I would just take Jihaad Campbell at 11 and run. young, freaky athlete, very versatile stand-up LB who came into Alabama as a DE prospect actually, just a solid versatile piece to give Saleh immediately and hit the OL/DLs from the 2nd on.

caveat: if Josh Simmons is healthy he should be the pick at 11 regardless of who's available, even above Graham/Membou. he's that good.

[clyde21]

I agree at IOL, with the exception that Brendel was maybe the biggest problem on our entire team last year, and there isn't a clear plan to do anything about that. But we aren't very likely to find an immediate starter at center in the draft, so that position may just be what it is. Ugh.

i think we just have to come to terms with the fact that we can't plug all the holes in one off-season, and a couple of positions might have to be the sacrificial lambs this year. center is probably one of them, LB probably the other unfortunately.

[CrimsonCrew]

I agree at IOL, with the exception that Brendel was maybe the biggest problem on our entire team last year, and there isn't a clear plan to do anything about that. But we aren't very likely to find an immediate starter at center in the draft, so that position may just be what it is. Ugh.

i think we just have to come to terms with the fact that we can't plug all the holes in one off-season, and a couple of positions might have to be the sacrificial lambs this year. center is probably one of them, LB probably the other unfortunately.

We definitely COULD (and should) have plugged center. Drew Dalman got $14 million/year for three years when many thought he would be in the $16-17 million range. Still pretty steep, but for a 26yo who is probably a top-5 center (and has 49ers connections), I think it would have been well worth it. Ryan Kelly got $9 million/year on what could easily amount to a one-year, $9 million deal with the cap hits spread across two seasons.

At this point, I'm not thrilled, but I can live with going into camp with a legit competition between Brendel, Zakelj, Bartch (though he may be the starter at LG), Nugent, and maybe a rookie. If Brendel is just handed the job again, and he again plays the way he did this year, then some coaches need to be on the hot seat.

I get that the defense will have some holes. We've inexplicably neglected the DL and especially DT in the draft for several years, and we're paper thin at LB, CB, and even safety. We would have needed to shell out pretty serious money to address that in FA to date. But the center position was as responsible for our offensive struggles last year as the loss of Aiyuk or McCaffrey IMO. Very arguably more responsible. Upgrading that one position combined with our offensive skill players could make us competitive with any team in the league even if the D struggles again.

[clyde21]

I agree at IOL, with the exception that Brendel was maybe the biggest problem on our entire team last year, and there isn't a clear plan to do anything about that. But we aren't very likely to find an immediate starter at center in the draft, so that position may just be what it is. Ugh.

i think we just have to come to terms with the fact that we can't plug all the holes in one off-season, and a couple of positions might have to be the sacrificial lambs this year. center is probably one of them, LB probably the other unfortunately.

We definitely COULD (and should) have plugged center. Drew Dalman got $14 million/year for three years when many thought he would be in the $16-17 million range. Still pretty steep, but for a 26yo who is probably a top-5 center (and has 49ers connections), I think it would have been well worth it. Ryan Kelly got $9 million/year on what could easily amount to a one-year, $9 million deal with the cap hits spread across two seasons.

At this point, I'm not thrilled, but I can live with going into camp with a legit competition between Brendel, Zakelj, Bartch (though he may be the starter at LG), Nugent, and maybe a rookie. If Brendel is just handed the job again, and he again plays the way he did this year, then some coaches need to be on the hot seat.

I get that the defense will have some holes. We've inexplicably neglected the DL and especially DT in the draft for several years, and we're paper thin at LB, CB, and even safety. We would have needed to shell out pretty serious money to address that in FA to date. But the center position was as responsible for our offensive struggles last year as the loss of Aiyuk or McCaffrey IMO. Very arguably more responsible. Upgrading that one position combined with our offensive skill players could make us competitive with any team in the league even if the D struggles again.

we could have plugged center, but it's pretty obvious it was a reset year financially for the team and they didn't want to dish out any big money, even 9m for Ryan Kelly. it is what it is, but at this point all we have is the draft and we can't plug all the holes we have right now with one draft.

[CrimsonCrew]

Yeah, not to beat a dead horse, but center stands out because I'm fairly certain they won't trust a rookie and it's a weak center class anyway. I don't mind the gaping hole at DT as much because it's a strong DT draft, we've seen them play rookies at that spot, and we can probably pick up a couple street FAs after the draft who aren't markedly worse than what we trotted out last year. Not to mention it's a position where players rotate, so you can add a one-dimensional run-stuffer and a pass-rusher and be okay platooning them.

[clyde21]

if we take a RB is better be one of the ones in the top right quadrant, and as much as I hate to say it, Cam Skattebo seems like such a Kyle player, who's a RB/FB hybrid type potentially

[clyde21]

new Daniel Jeremiah mock has Armand Membou, Mason Graham, Jalon Walker AND Jihaad Campbell going in the top 9. absolute nightmare scenario for the Niners if that happens lmao. literally the four guys I'd want at 11.

[Jikkle]

Yeah, not to beat a dead horse, but center stands out because I'm fairly certain they won't trust a rookie and it's a weak center class anyway. I don't mind the gaping hole at DT as much because it's a strong DT draft, we've seen them play rookies at that spot, and we can probably pick up a couple street FAs after the draft who aren't markedly worse than what we trotted out last year. Not to mention it's a position where players rotate, so you can add a one-dimensional run-stuffer and a pass-rusher and be okay platooning them.

The best case realistic scenario would be if they draft another guy on Puni's level to play LG and one of the vets on the roster takes Brendal's job.

It seemed like Feliciano was in legit competition for the C spot last training camp until his knee injury so I'd have to take that as an indication Brendal's spot isn't ironclad by any means.

[Jikkle]

new Daniel Jeremiah mock has Armand Membou, Mason Graham, Jalon Walker AND Jihaad Campbell going in the top 9. absolute nightmare scenario for the Niners if that happens lmao. literally the four guys I'd want at 11.

He has us taking a CB and I don't see any scenario where we take a CB at #11.

This team has never taken a DB in the 1st round under Lynch/Shanahan and it's pretty clear they don't value the position that highly.

The only 3 positions that should be mocked is OT, DL, and WR at #11 and while I'm pretty doubtful they'll go WR at #11 I throw it out there because the team has 0 issues drafting WR in the 1st round.

[Harry Palmer]

With so many holes to fill, I am increasingly leaning towards having one of those drafts where we keep trading down and acquiring mid-round picks. I mean both I think that might be what we should do, but also think that best explains the FOs tactics this off-season.

I know it seems counter-intuitive when we finally have a higher slot, but I think we might well have as high or higher slot next year, and we need young talent in volume, especially in the trenches.

Edit: apropos of nothing, I had a wild mock draft simulation recently. Both Hunter and Carter had inexplicable drops, and after a lot of trades (sacrificing most of next year’s draft outside the 1st) we got both AND Grant with 3 1sts, and solid picks after that. Wasn’t looking for either guy, and in fact thought I had traded out of a slot I got a lot of offers for and assumed was for one of them, only to watch them continue to fall until a point I had to trade back up to grab.

Carter isn’t a system fit and Hunter doesn’t particularly fit a need, but guys that good mid 1st, you take them and run. What Sim do you guys use, btw? I’ve been using Mock Draft Database, but it has a tendency for HUGE offers of major capital in future drafts for mid-late round picks in this one, like next year’s 1st and 3rd for a 4th this year or w/e, so I’m looking for a more grounded sim.

[CrimsonCrew]

With so many holes to fill, I am increasingly leaning towards having one of those drafts where we keep trading down and acquiring mid-round picks. I mean both I think that might be what we should do, but also think that best explains the FOs tactics this off-season.

I know it seems counter-intuitive when we finally have a higher slot, but I think we might well have as high or higher slot next year, and we need young talent in volume, especially in the trenches.

Edit: apropos of nothing, I had a wild mock draft simulation recently. Both Hunter and Carter had inexplicable drops, and after a lot of trades (sacrificing most of next year’s draft outside the 1st) we got both AND Grant with 3 1sts, and solid picks after that. Wasn’t looking for either guy, and in fact thought I had traded out of a slot I got a lot of offers for and assumed was for one of them, only to watch them continue to fall until a point I had to trade back up to grab.

Carter isn’t a system fit and Hunter doesn’t particularly fit a need, but guys that good mid 1st, you take them and run. What Sim do you guys use, btw? I’ve been using Mock Draft Database, but it has a tendency for HUGE offers of major capital in future drafts for mid-late round picks in this one, like next year’s 1st and 3rd for a 4th this year or w/e, so I’m looking for a more grounded sim.

I mostly use three mock draft sims: PFF (don't have a membership, so this is just first three rounds with no trades), Mock Draft Database, and Pro Football Network. Of the latter two, I prefer PFN. I like MDD's player rankings a bit more, but as you noted, the trades can get kind of insane. PFN definitely has more realistic trades.

I did a mock on MDD last year where I just leaned into trading. I ended up with a 21-player draft class and 34 future picks, including seven first rounders (though I'm pretty sure the Titans traded me their first-round pick twice). I'll sometimes do one of those trade-heavy drafts for kicks, but I try not to accept insane trades like that when I'm doing a legit mock. If I get a crazy offer, I'll sometimes go into the trade offer tool and will make a lower offer to the same team that seems more realistic.

[clyde21]

looks like Mike Green is an option at 11 now

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[clyde21]

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[CrimsonCrew]

looks like Mike Green is an option at 11 now

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Green was kicked out of two schools and seems to have some pretty significant red flags. Not the sort of player we've gone for lately. I'd be pretty shocked if he's on the Niners' radar at 11. Hoping that the testing numbers bump up Green and Stewart. Green was way more productive, but I don't think we'll draft him. And Stewart just doesn't have the production. The more of those guys that go ahead of 11, the better.