49ers 4th-Round Pick Has Long Road Ahead

The San Francisco 49ers are fresh off the 2025 NFL Draft, where they were able to add some talent to help the roster immediately as well as in the future.

One of those pieces is wideout Jordan Watkins, whom the 49ers drafted in the fourth round out of Ole Miss. He was the first offensive player the team took last week and he’ll add some speed to the wideout room.

San Francisco has a few questions at wideout with Brandon Aiyuk coming back from a torn ACL, Jauan Jennings heading into the final year of his contract and Demarcus Robinson facing suspension.

It could be the perfect situation for Watkins to break into a starting role early in the season if not in Week 1.

“It’s going to be tough,” Watkins said after getting drafted. “It’s going to be hard to be able to work my way up onto the field as a rookie. But I think the thing that makes San Francisco very special is that they really care about football there. And they told me that if you care about football and you love football, then you’re going to fit in great here.”

It’s a complicated system that Watkins will have to learn on the fly, but he knows he’ll have to make adjustments entering 2025.

“The biggest adjustment is the playbook,” Watkins said. “Having a traditional style NFL offense compared to what we had at Ole Miss is a lot different because having time in and out between plays and things like that, compared to being at Ole Miss to where it’s so fast and it’s rapid. I think that’ll be the biggest adjustment for me.”

Watkins wants to make the best of any opportunity he has heading into the season.

“There’s some key factors they’re missing,” Watkins said. “So, there is going to be opportunity to be able to step in and make those big plays that are needed to win football games. So, if I’m able to come in and blessed enough to work my way up to see the field, whatever that role may be, whether I need to, like you said, block, go down and block somebody or whether it’s making big plays. So, I guess I’m just happy to be able to step into those roles and make plays and help any way I can.”

49ers 4th-Round Pick Has Long Road Ahead

Tags: