The San Francisco 49ers are just one day away from the first round of what should be a very interesting 2026 NFL Draft.
Without as many usual blue-chip prospects in this class, insiders and evaluators are treating the draft differently this year, considering three of the best prospects in the class play off-ball linebacker, safety, and running back.
Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love could go as high as No. 3, according to several reports, with ESPN’s Peter Schrager mocking him to the Arizona Cardinals there.
“This could be a trade-down spot, and I believe Arizona is listening,” Schrager wrote on Wednesday morning. “Teams like the Chiefs and Saints could have interest in getting into position to take Reese. But I also think the Cardinals could just take Love. Again, forget about positional value this year — most people see him as the top player in the draft, and he could be a jolt to the Cards’ offense. Love moves the needle for a team trying to get back in the mix in a crowded NFC West.”
That would instantly make Love one of the highest-paid running backs in the NFL and would be quite the difference from what we’ve seen in the draft over the last few years. But, without many surefire picks at the top of the draft, we could see that scenario unfold.
There’s a good likelihood that Love, Ohio State’s Caleb Downs, and Ohio State’s Sonny Styles all go inside the Top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft, which would rarely be the case in a draft class considered stronger at the top.
Overall, this class feels like it has quite a good amount of starters, with value to be had in the middle rounds. But, given the lack of blue-chip prospects, could the 49ers stray away from reaching on ‘premium’ positions and go outside-the-box with their draft picks?
General manager John Lynch was asked about the 49ers’ intentions with their first-round pick and whether the team could consider more of a non-premium position, such as safety or an offensive guard instead.
“I’d say I think safety is very premium. That might be a little personal,” Lynch chuckled. “I always think the way those guys can affect the game because they’re asked to do a little bit of everything. But I’ll get off that soapbox and I’ll get back to [the question].
“Yeah, I do think, you know, it happens that we talk about defensive line, particularly the edge. This draft is fairly deep there. It’s a good position. I think the offensive line’s fairly deep in this draft. Wide receiver, you have plenty of options. So I think there is alignment there, but I do believe just kind of where we’re at, we need to add good young players. And so, we have our vision of what we hold true to.”
The 49ers have hit quite a bit in the draft, especially in those middle rounds, as we’ve seen with the selections of Fred Warner, George Kittle, and others. Now, it’s about replicating that process and becoming more consistent with the misses.
“We do a lot of studying of, okay, our best picks. Why were they our best picks? And what in our process did we miss on the guys who haven’t? So we’ve done, as we do every year, a thorough review of that,” Lynch continued.
“And I think it really has us in a good mindset to just let this thing come to us. There’s no other choice unless you’re just going to move up and go from 6 picks to a lot less to sit back and kind of let it happen. And so we’ll do a lot of those simulations. You know, it’s pretty awesome now. Like, you know, you sit there on the computer and you let the thing run and boom. All right, here’s who’s left. What are we going to do? And so a lot of this week will be that those kind of situations continuing to talk with other clubs so that we can have opportunities, whether that is moving up, moving back. And we’ll be ready.”
When it comes to some of those players at non-premium positions, there are a few very outside-the-box options that could be available.
Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren plays a position the 49ers haven’t invested much in. But he could be a Day 1 starter and make an immediate impact in the secondary after the position group was quite inconsistent last year.
Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood is climbing up boards after injury concerns about his teammate, Jermod McCoy. While the 49ers might shy away from McCoy (even if he slides to 27) because of the knee issues, Hood is worth a look at, and could also be an immediate starter in the secondary.
Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis is considered a fringe first-round prospect and could warrant consideration for the vacant left guard job. While he may not kick out to tackle and be a future replacement for Trent Williams, he’s played tackle in the past and could also be a potential Day 1 starter at left guard.
Hood isn’t the only other cornerback in the mix. There’s speedy San Diego State corner Chris Johnson and others who could creep into that first-round consideration depending on how the draft falls.
A shot in the dark? What about Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price, whom many have mocked to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 32? Now, the 49ers have Christian McCaffrey, and this would be way out of left field, but Price could be Kyle Shanahan’s future at the position on a set contract.
Overall, the 49ers shouldn’t reach for a player, and offensive line seems like the most realistic, given who is expected to be there in that range. But, with premium positions not holding as much value to other teams in this draft compared to true talent, the 49ers could follow suit and just look for the best football players in the class.
