2026 Mock Draft V1

Coaching Staff -
- Saleh and Bullocks departed; Bradley departs as well
- Morris is our DC, Joe Woods at DBs

Assumptions -
- Jennings departs in FA because he makes bank for a team like the Titans.
- Most folks on defense were additions and drafted by prior DCs (Ryans, Wilks, Sorensen), so they walk as well.
- 4-5 modest FA splurges, and then budget buys after the 2nd wave of FA.

Personnel -
Release: Aiyuk, L. Ferrell, D. Robinson ($12M est. savings after June 1st)
Re-Sign: Pineiro, Burford, B. Robinson, Weeks, Morstead, Pleasants, Tonges ($18M additional spent against '26 cap)
Extend: T. Williams ($12M savings)

Trades -
- 49ers trade Bryce Huff for Titans 5th round pick. Saleh reunites with his guy.
- 49ers trade Mac Jones for Jets 2nd round pick (via DAL).

Free Agency Targets - $40M allocated for FA class

Modest Signings:

Rashid Shaheed - WR/ST - Seahawks
*Elite burner that we haven't had in our WR corps since the Goodwin days. Huge upgrade vs. Skyy Moore.

Isaiah Likely - TE - Ravens
*Excellent blocker and good receiver, Likely will be our succession plan for Kittle and likely starter on day 1. The premium we pay for Latu and Ferrell's failures.

Joey Bosa - DE - Bills
*Getting the Bosa bros together. The two, paired with depth talent, should give us a much better rotation.

Leo Chenel - LB/ST - Chiefs
*Stout against the run, improving against the pass, he can play SAM and WILL in our scheme. Strong ST contributor. Upgrade vs. Gifford.

Budget Buys: Smith* (QB, LV), Tomlinson* (DT, ARI), Vera-Tucker (G, NYJ), Emerson (CB, CLE), Ojabo (EDGE, BAL), Thomas (EDGE, CLE)

[*indicates projected cap casualties]

NFL Draft -

R1: Germie Bernard - WR - Alabama
*A faster, younger Jennings. Bernard has everything Shanahan values in a WR - separation, route running, good hands, and willing blocker. Fills a critical need.

R2: Akheem Mesidor - EDGE - Miami (via DAL thru NYJ)
*1st round talent that drops due to his age. Dude has a relentless motor with great burst off the line. Bosa bros + Mesidor will wreck havoc in the backfield.

R2: Zakee Wheatley - S - Penn St
*Physical and fast, effective in man and zone, Wheatley creates a unique chess piece that we have long needed in our safeties unit.

R3: Logan Jones - C - Iowa
*Has all the physical and IQ intangibles to be a long-term starter in Kyle's system. Brendel becomes our backup C for this year.

R4: Tac Davis - CB - Washington
*Competes with Green for the starting boundary corner opposite Lenior. Love Davis's size and potential at the position.

R4: Kevin Coleman Jr - WR - Mississippi (comp)
*Slot receiver that essentially replaces Cowing's role on our roster. Great at getting separation immediately at the line of scrimmage. Sharp route runner.

R4: Beau Stephens - G - Iowa (comp)
*We continue to replenish our OL depth at the factory that produces good quality OL. Stephens will be our swing G backup. Experience at LG and RG.

R5: Aiden Fisher - LB - Indiana (via TEN)
*Given Martin's outlook with his concussion + realized play of Winters and Bethune, we need more depth at LB. Fisher is a MIKE that will pop on ST.

R5: Riley Nowakowski - TE/FB - Indiana (comp)
*Juice's eventual successor, Nowakowski will initially be a blocking TE in certain downs and play ST.

Projected Depth Chart -

QB: Purdy/Smith*/Rouke
RB: CMC/Robinson/James
FB: Juice
TE: Kittle/Likely*/Tonges/Nowakowski*

WR: Pearsall/Watkins
WR: Bernard*
WR: Shaheed*/Coleman Jr*

LT: Williams/Burford
LG: Puni
C: Jones*/Brendel
RG: Vera-Tucker*/Stephens*
RT: McKivitz/Pleasants

DE: J. Bosa*/Williams/Thomas*
DT: Collins/White
NT: Tomlinson*/West
DE: N. Bosa/Mesidor*/Ojabo*

LB: Chenel*/Winters (PUP: Martin)
LB: Warner/Fisher*/Bethune

CB: Lenior/Emerson*
NB: Stout
FS: Wheatley*/Brown
SS: Mustapha/Sigle/Neal
CB: Green/Davis*

ST: Pineiro, Morstead, Weeks

Like the draft! Is that Geno Smith from the Raiders? Don't want

Getting Shaheed would be amazing. I want that as well but not sure we can pry him from SEA after what he did for them and to us in particular.

Not sure Vera Tucker will be a budget buy

Not that I would take him on the team, but I think Geno has a pretty hefty dead cap hit to the Raiders.

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:

Not sure Vera Tucker will be a budget buy

Games Played:

2021: 16
2022: 7
2023: 5
2024: 15
2025: 0

It'll be a budget buy for base salary and guaranteed money with incentives to increase his comp. Given he's only played 50% of games in his career due to multiple injuries, especially not playing at all in 2025, means I don't think teams will overpay in FA to get him.

He's also more of a ZBS projection at guard. So only a subset of teams would be interested in him.

Originally posted by tohara3:

Like the draft! Is that Geno Smith from the Raiders? Don't want

His OL was trash last year. I think he can be a functional backup in our scheme. But look, the FA class at QB is awful. Perhaps swap Smith for Mariotta, Howell, maybe Cousins? Again, still not ideal.

I'd actually prefer Flacco, but I'm not sure he'd want to come to SF as he'd want a starting opportunity in his last year.

Germie Bernard at pick 27? He's ranked as the 11th best WR at best in this draft. Like the rest of the draft but that pick is a real head scratcher for me.

Originally posted by GEEK:
Coaching Staff -
- Saleh and Bullocks departed; Bradley departs as well
- Morris is our DC, Joe Woods at DBs

Assumptions -
- Jennings departs in FA because he makes bank for a team like the Titans.
- Most folks on defense were additions and drafted by prior DCs (Ryans, Wilks, Sorensen), so they walk as well.
- 4-5 modest FA splurges, and then budget buys after the 2nd wave of FA.

Personnel -
Release: Aiyuk, L. Ferrell, D. Robinson ($12M est. savings after June 1st)
Re-Sign: Pineiro, Burford, B. Robinson, Weeks, Morstead, Pleasants, Tonges ($18M additional spent against '26 cap)
Extend: T. Williams ($12M savings)

Trades -
- 49ers trade Bryce Huff for Titans 5th round pick. Saleh reunites with his guy.
- 49ers trade Mac Jones for Jets 2nd round pick (via DAL).

Free Agency Targets - $40M allocated for FA class

Modest Signings:

Rashid Shaheed - WR/ST - Seahawks
*Elite burner that we haven't had in our WR corps since the Goodwin days. Huge upgrade vs. Skyy Moore.

Isaiah Likely - TE - Ravens
*Excellent blocker and good receiver, Likely will be our succession plan for Kittle and likely starter on day 1. The premium we pay for Latu and Ferrell's failures.

Joey Bosa - DE - Bills
*Getting the Bosa bros together. The two, paired with depth talent, should give us a much better rotation.

Leo Chenel - LB/ST - Chiefs
*Stout against the run, improving against the pass, he can play SAM and WILL in our scheme. Strong ST contributor. Upgrade vs. Gifford.

Budget Buys: Smith* (QB, LV), Tomlinson* (DT, ARI), Vera-Tucker (G, NYJ), Emerson (CB, CLE), Ojabo (EDGE, BAL), Thomas (EDGE, CLE)

[*indicates projected cap casualties]

NFL Draft -

R1: Germie Bernard - WR - Alabama
*A faster, younger Jennings. Bernard has everything Shanahan values in a WR - separation, route running, good hands, and willing blocker. Fills a critical need.

R2: Akheem Mesidor - EDGE - Miami (via DAL thru NYJ)
*1st round talent that drops due to his age. Dude has a relentless motor with great burst off the line. Bosa bros + Mesidor will wreck havoc in the backfield.

R2: Zakee Wheatley - S - Penn St
*Physical and fast, effective in man and zone, Wheatley creates a unique chess piece that we have long needed in our safeties unit.

R3: Logan Jones - C - Iowa
*Has all the physical and IQ intangibles to be a long-term starter in Kyle's system. Brendel becomes our backup C for this year.

R4: Tac Davis - CB - Washington
*Competes with Green for the starting boundary corner opposite Lenior. Love Davis's size and potential at the position.

R4: Kevin Coleman Jr - WR - Mississippi (comp)
*Slot receiver that essentially replaces Cowing's role on our roster. Great at getting separation immediately at the line of scrimmage. Sharp route runner.

R4: Beau Stephens - G - Iowa (comp)
*We continue to replenish our OL depth at the factory that produces good quality OL. Stephens will be our swing G backup. Experience at LG and RG.

R5: Aiden Fisher - LB - Indiana (via TEN)
*Given Martin's outlook with his concussion + realized play of Winters and Bethune, we need more depth at LB. Fisher is a MIKE that will pop on ST.

R5: Riley Nowakowski - TE/FB - Indiana (comp)
*Juice's eventual successor, Nowakowski will initially be a blocking TE in certain downs and play ST.

Projected Depth Chart -

QB: Purdy/Smith*/Rouke
RB: CMC/Robinson/James
FB: Juice
TE: Kittle/Likely*/Tonges/Nowakowski*

WR: Pearsall/Watkins
WR: Bernard*
WR: Shaheed*/Coleman Jr*

LT: Williams/Burford
LG: Puni
C: Jones*/Brendel
RG: Vera-Tucker*/Stephens*
RT: McKivitz/Pleasants

DE: J. Bosa*/Williams/Thomas*
DT: Collins/White
NT: Tomlinson*/West
DE: N. Bosa/Mesidor*/Ojabo*

LB: Chenel*/Winters (PUP: Martin)
LB: Warner/Fisher*/Bethune

CB: Lenior/Emerson*
NB: Stout
FS: Wheatley*/Brown
SS: Mustapha/Sigle/Neal
CB: Green/Davis*

ST: Pineiro, Morstead, Weeks

1- Vera Tucker is not a budget buy. Dudes going to get paid 20+ mil

2- I don't want to extend or restructure anyone. We don't need the cap space and extending old injury prone players will only get us in more cap trouble

3- We aren't starting a rookie at center and Brendel won't be a backup. The only way Brendel doesn't start is if we sign a guy like Linderbaum or McGovern.

4- I like Bernard but using a 1st or even a 2nd on him is very underwhelming.