The plan for the San Francisco 49ers was to lean heavily on their 2025 draft class in hopes they’d improve enough throughout the season to become effective contributors on a Super Bowl contender.

Injuries to key players on both sides of the ball have derailed the 49ers’ hopes of Super Bowl contention, but it doesn’t change the importance of the 2025 draft class to San Francisco’s future.

Here’s a look at how each rookie has fared through 13 games and the level of optimism about their chances to be a contributing starter on a Super Bowl contender:

Round 1, Pick 11: DE Mykel Williams

An ACL tear in Week 9 cut Williams’s rookie campaign short. He immediately stepped in as an effective run stopper, and the pass rush showed some improvement as he racked up NFL snaps. A knee injury was a brutal way for Williams’ season to end, but the arrow will continue pointing up on him as he works his way back next season.

Optimism level: Cautious, but prevalent

Round 2, Pick 43: DT Alfred Collins

Collins’s improvement has been a consistent silver lining in an up-and-down season for the 49ers. He missed the offseason program because of a calf injury and then didn’t look particularly effective in the preseason. However, consistent playing time has made Collins a regular contributor in the middle of the 49ers’ defensive line and there’s continued optimism that he can be a high-level starter moving forward.

Optimism level: North of moderate, south of high

Round 3, Pick 75: LB Nick Martin

It’s been a tough year for Martin, whose path to playing time was blocked by the rapidly improved Dee Winters. The 49ers selected Martin with the expectation that he’d be the starting Will linebacker alongside Fred Warner since they didn’t have an internal option ready to go. Winters made a leap over the offseason, though and put himself in a position to win the starting job. That pushed Martin off of the active game day roster entirely until injuries mounted at LB. Now it appears Martin is on track for some regular snaps as the Sam LB, but a concussion early in Week 13 kept him from building on a strong Week 12 defensive showing.

Optimism level: Moderate

Round 3, Pick 100: CB Upton Stout

While there have been some bumps and bruises with Stout, he’s been a largely successful late third-round pick. He’s been the regular starting nickel cornerback and has improved throughout the year. There are still some hiccups in coverage, but he’s playing a tough position in a defense that has had a lot of moving parts. The 49ers put a lot of faith in Stout and it has paid off.

Optimism level: Very high

Round 4, Pick 113: DT CJ West

Our optimism about West was through the roof to start the year. He hasn’t contributed as consistently as the team might’ve liked, but he is finally getting game day nods over veteran Kevin Givens. It would be a continued good sign for the fourth-round pick if West can nail down that rotational role through the regular season and whatever kind of playoff run the 49ers get.

Optimism level: Plateauing at moderate after fading

Round 4, Pick 138: WR Jordan Watkins

This season was a prime opportunity for a rookie to break through and contribute in the receiving corps. Watkins dealt with some injuries, came back to catch two passes for 26 yards in three games, and is now a healthy scratch. An ideal version of this year is one where Watkins is able to earn snaps over a player like Kendrick Bourne or Skyy Moore. He fell short of that, but flashed enough to not lose hope for his future.

Optimism level: Cautiously moderate

Round 5, Pick 147: RB Jordan James

Not only did James miss a ton of training camp and the preseason with a finger injury, but he hasn’t been active for any games in the 2025 season. Part of the issue is a talented group in front of him on the depth chart and an inability to contribute on special teams. However, that’s the same formula that kept players like Trey Sermon and Tyrion Davis-Price from getting playing time.

Optimism level: Aggressively dropping

Round 5, Pick 160: S Marques Sigle

It has been a weird year for the fifth-round pick. He won a starting job out of camp, then was relegated to healthy scratch status, and now he’s back to getting the active nod on game days where he largely contributes on special teams. Sigle flashed a ton of upside with his athleticism and aggressiveness as a tackler. That he couldn’t hold down the starting job is a bit of a red flag.

Optimism level: Declining, but still something a little more than moderate

Round 7, Pick 227: QB Kurtis Rourke

Rourke has been on the Non-Football Injury list all season while recovering from an ACL tear he suffered in college.

Optimism level: N/A

Round 7, Pick 249: OL Connor Colby

The 49ers got starts and snaps out of a seventh-round rookie. That in itself is a win. Colby didn’t play well enough to hold down the starting left guard spot when Ben Bartch and Spencer Burford got healthy and he’s now a healthy scratch in part because of his limited versatility. There’s a chance he’s in the mix to start next year, and it looks like he might stick as a depth piece on the interior.

Optimism level: This is basically a lottery ticket, so the level of optimism you feel when you buy a lotto ticket is the appropriate amount here

Round 7, Pick 252: WR Junior Bergen

Bergen is a return specialist who hasn’t gotten off the practice squad this year.

Optimism level: Low

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