Throughout 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and president of football operations John Lynch’s tenure in San Francisco, the team has done an exceptional job of keeping its core of players together.

From draft picks such as Fred Warner and George Kittle to acquisitions such as Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers have held on to several of their key players who constantly have made them contenders over the years.

San Francisco has been active early into the 2026 NFL free agency period, headlined by the official signing of 12-year veteran wide receiver Mike Evans to a three-year contract and linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s agreement to a one-year deal to return to the 49ers.

Considering the ages of those particular players, there are concerns about the team getting even older. But sports analyst and former professional football player Emmanuel Acho has a counter that San Francisco could have the right balance of experienced veterans and young players entering the upcoming 2026 NFL season.

“There’s a fine line between the perfect combination of youth and wisdom and just being old,” Acho said on “Speakeasy,” responding to host Kieran Hickey-Semple’s argument that the 49ers are old and injury-prone.

“Because think about it, the Niners have a very young quarterback. Ricky Pearsall is a very young wide receiver. They have a very young defensive lineman in Mykel Williams. Osa Odighizuwa is still very young. I think [he’s] 26 years old.

“They have a couple of young offensive linemen. [Deommodore] Lenoir is young. The whole secondary is young. All of the starting secondary. My Nigerian brother, [who] played in the Big 10, [Malik] Mustapha. They’re young, and then you got old cats. So, the Niners could be that perfect combination, or Kieran could be exactly right.”

In addition, the 49ers still possess six total selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, including their No. 27 overall pick, and all of which are within the first four rounds. Thus, San Francisco has plenty of opportunities to get younger players that the team can develop ahead of the 2026 season.

Despite having a lot of aging players on the roster, nothing beats sharing the same locker room as and learning from future Pro Football Hall of Fame players.

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