The San Francisco 49ers obviously have needs in the 2026 season, but none more so than both offensive and defensive lines. We’ve wondered if this would be the year they take an offensive tackle in the first round, and this latest mock draft from NFL.com’s Eric Edholm addresses the inevitable moment in the (hopefully distant) future the 49ers and/or Trent Williams decide to move on.
Edholm has the 49ers taking Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu in his latest mock draft, noting specifically that Trent
Williams is not immortal:
He’s not a physically dominant blocker, but Lomu has the strong technique and good balance to be a starting left or right tackle. The 49ers won’t have Trent Williams forever.
This isn’t the first time Lomu has been mocked to the 49ers. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also had a mock draft in which the tackle went to San Francisco.
The 49ers can and should extend Trent Williams past his 2026 contract expiration for more salary cap relief. They can also draft an offensive lineman of the future in the meantime, so they don’t have to have a rookie protecting Brock Purdy’s blindside. Both things can be true.
The 49ers have Spencer Burford extended at the right tackle spot, but Lomu could definitely compete. So that situation removes any immediate sense of urgency.
I have two issues with the Lomu mocks. My first is simply the 49ers need to make sure they can keep up with the Seattle Seahawks defense; Brock Purdy was running for his life in his last two games he played Seattle, and while Williams’ future needs to be addressed, they really need to make sure they have offensive line pieces that can hold up against the pass rush up north. The Los Angeles Rams aren’t going to get any worse either. Furthermore, the 49ers’ run game needs a resurgence. If the 49ers can’t run the ball, we’ll be back at this position next year—or worse.
The second issue I have—and there is no right answer here—is that the 49ers need to invest in a future tackle for the reasons outlined, but can they get one who can play guard in the meantime? I’m still a fan of Dominick Puni and him getting better in year three, but the center and other guard position will remain a question mark. Immediately for need, I’d like to see a guard, but it would be passing up the opportunity to develop a left tackle. Yes, that’s a very un-Kyle Shanahan thing to spend picks on guards in early rounds (well, besides Aaron Banks), but again, the defenses the 49ers are up against need to be prepared for.
As KP pointed out, the one quality defensive line Lomu faced, Texas Tech, he struggled against. That makes me a bit nervous, knowing who he’ll be up against four times a year, but it’s not a disqualifier by any stretch.
Now, with all that considered, the bigger question is going to be whether they take defensive line or offensive line. At the very least, one of those lines needs to address the present and the future.
For Lomu specifically, from what little I’ve watched, it seems like he has issues with the run game. His pass blocking is nice, but run blocking wasn’t as good. The 49ers need to run the ball, and I think with that in mind, Lomu might not fix that.
I think it was best said by Mike Singletary after the 49ers drafted Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati in the same draft. It was something along the lines of: “We want to run the ball when we want to run the ball.”
