Assessing 49ers' 2026 NFL Draft needs with Field Yates

On “49ers Talk,” Matt Maiocco and NFL Draft expert Field Yates analyze intriguing prospects the 49ers could target, starting with the No. 27 pick.

Assessing 49ers’ 2026 NFL Draft needs with Field Yates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Video Transcript

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All right, Jennifer, we’re another few days closer to the NFL draft.

Do you just feel the excitement in the air?

Oh yeah, it’s percolating under everything.

It’s like, “The draft is coming.

The draft is coming.”

But honestly, I’ve talked to football fans, and they’re all excited.

You know, this is the time of the year where everybody’s undefeated, everybody’s got a positive outlook.

They have, you know, free agency.

The first couple waves of it are done, and people are excited.

You know, everybody’s undefeated.

At, at this point, you know, all the playing field is leveled.

You know what?

I, I, I think I’ve learned to embrace the pre-draft process, and not only that, but the role the media plays in it.

Like I You know, I, I hate to admit this, and, and people I, I get kind of people on both sides who are tired of mock drafts, just, “No more mock drafts.”

But then other people are like, “Love the mock drafts.”

I find myself unable to look away from a mock draft.

I don’t know why, but I just, I, I find them I find top 50 lists, you know, guys ranking their prospects, I find the, the big draft boards from the people I respect, I find all those really fun and interesting as kind of a, a precursor to the actual draft to kind of see how it all lines up.

You know, whose, whose mock draft was good.

You know, who may have had some inside information there?

Whose top 50 lists lined up with how these players were drafted?

I, I enjoy all that.

Now, do you, when you look at a, a mock draft, do you just look at the first and second rounds, or do you, is, do you read the entire thing as far as whoever is writing it goes?

Yeah, I think it’s, I think first round is about as far as I go, and I’ll look at like, you know, which, which, who has, or which positions, you know, someone will have.

I mean, I guess I’ll kind of look, I’ll skim through it, but certainly the first round is, is interesting to, you know, to be able to follow along because there are You know, the dominoes that fall impacts obviously what’s later, you know?

Mm-hmm.

You know, like, we’ll talk about some of these positions here as we go but, you know, if there’s a, a wide receiver that you didn’t expect to be chosen as high as he was, oh, that might impact, you know, the 49ers.

Or an offensive lineman, oh, my gosh, that, you know, that guy could be a starter week one, but he’s gone.

Thought he might last that long.

Or an edge rusher, “Oh, I thought the 49ers could take him at 27, but he’s already gone at number 18.”

You know, something like that, so that’s what I look at.

Yeah.

I- It’s always interesting to see where people outside the building place the priority for that building, right?

So you’ve got like, I know Field Yates will be here on the show a little bit later.

Where does he think the 49ers priorities are?

Where does he think their, their draft board matches up with who’s out there at number 27?

It always It’s a different opinion from all the different, like, experts in this, in this kind of draft business, and I think it’s always fascinating to see where they feel like the candidates fit in.

You know what?

I mean, I think they, I think from the outside they see it like we see it.

Mm-hmm.

you and I ha- might have a little bit of differing views.

Let’s get into this ’cause I You, you, you did mention that, Field Yates will be joining us here on 49ers Talk.

you know, I, I, I was at the Warriors game on Thursday night, and I, I couldn’t tell you how many people were like, “Hey, who are they gonna draft?”

Like I know, right?

Yeah.

Like, we can make, we can make guesses, educated or otherwise, but I think, I think it’s Most people that I talk to say, “You know, they gotta take an offensive lineman.”

I get it.

I think they probably should, all things being equal, take a defensive lineman, but I could see where offensive lineman, especially when you consider that they don’t have a starting left guard right now, I could see where, where that makes sense.

you know, it wouldn’t shock me.

You know, offensive lineman wouldn’t shock me at 27. certainly defensive line would be, I would think, kind of the favorite, all things being equal.

But also, like, safety.

You know, safety wouldn’t shock me.

so let, let’s just start off Well, you know what?

There was a little bit of news this week.

Mm-hmm.

The 49ers, speaking of defensive line, the 49ers reached contract terms with Cam Sample, a four-year veteran, played for the Bengals.

he’s played in a lot of games for the Bengals.

I, I don’t see him coming in and being somebody that they just like, “Oh, we’ve solved our defensive line problems.”

I mean, how do you view that, that signing or the agreement with Cam Sample?

I think the addition of Cam Sample is a guy who adds depth.

He’s a guy who’s been healthy.

That’s been an issue for the defensive line.

But he’s not the guy who is a marquee player who’s, oh, he’s brought in to be the opposite of Nick Bosa, and they’re going to now have pass rushers on each side.

He’s a guy who adds depth, who is a solid player, who they should hopefully get a few sacks out of, and, you know, he’ll hold down the edge.

But he’s not a guy who at this point You know, maybe he could grow into being, you know, a guy who wows you a little bit more, but he’s not a guy who, “Oh, my gosh, okay, this is the guy who’s going to change everything that’s on the defensive line, and now they’re going to have, you know- 40 sacks for next year.

it’s, I don’t think it’s that.

But he is a guy who adds depth, and they need that on the defensive line with all the injuries that they have and guys coming back from injury.

So it, it’s a solid addition.

it’s not, like, something that’s ground, you know, earth-shattering, groundbreaking, but it’s a guy who’s gonna be a solid player for them.

Yeah, I mean, but I, I think, you know, I wouldn’t say he’s guaranteed to make the team either.

You know, when you look at defensive end, you got Bosa, you got Mike Hill Williams, you got Sam Okwuonu, you got Kwon White, and you got Cam Sample, and then you add a draft pick as well.

So I, I think it, it adds to the competition and maybe raises the floor more- Mm-hmm than it raises the ceiling, right?

Right.

Yeah.

I- And, and what the 49ers wanna do is they wanna raise the roof- Oh, boy and get, and get more than, more than 20 sacks this season.

Okay.

So that’s a defensive line, certainly a need for the 49ers.

Offensive line, I, I contend that I, I don’t necessarily expect it, but I would not be shocked at 27 if they get somebody that could potentially start at left guard.

and maybe, maybe that’s a better pick at 58 for their next selection.

I don’t know.

How do you see it?

I, I think if, if for some reason the 49ers end up taking an offensive lineman at 27 in the draft, it’s because every other skill player on their board was already selected by another team, so this is their best player on the board.

If you look at the history of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch at the helm of the 49ers, they haven’t drafted offensive linemen in the first round.

They just haven’t.

They value the guys that make the offensive line look better, like the wide receivers, the, you know, running backs, you know, everything that could help the offense make bigger plays, playmakers ultimately I think is what it is, and it’s either, on either side of the ball.

You know, last year it was defensive linemen.

I think they’re, again, going to go for an edge rusher.

They need to add depth there.

But historically, I mean, Mike McGlinchey is your one first-round pick, right?

Yeah.

And I, I just don’t think they do it again.

They Aaron Banks, they liked him, they needed a guard, second round though.

So I could see them going for an offensive lineman more with the second round or maybe with, you know, one of those fourth-round picks.

You’ve got a really good coach in Coach Chris Foerster, who coaches up the guys.

You talk to everybody in that offensive line room, and they all talk about how much their game has improved from him.

So when you’ve got guys, and especially when you look at I, I think Dominic Punni was a great example.

They did a lot of outside zones at Kansas, so he was ready to jump in and do that.

Not a lot of guys do that.

So it’s a lot of coaching that has to bring them up to be starting level, and unless it’s going to be a guy who is a freak of nature like Trent Williams and, you know, he’s a guy that’s gonna go in the top 10, they don’t have a top 10 pick, that’s when I think the 49ers would go for an offensive lineman in the first round.

If it’s a guy who’s going to change the game, if Trent Williams, you know, is retiring and you’ve got a left tackle, you know, maybe they could’ve taken Tristan Wirfs.

I mean, that’s a guy who kind of, you know, that’s a game-changer.

But for a guard, I don’t know if that’s enough for them to use their first-round pick, even though it’s a number 27 pick, on an- Yeah offensive lineman.

Yeah.

I, I mean, I, I find it, it’s, it’s an interesting conversation, and- Mm-hmm yeah, I think, you know, 49er fans, you know- I know they’re not gonna like what I said.

Yeah.

And, but they also have to You know, people always like to invoke Bill Walsh.

His philosophy was the same.

Mm-hmm.

I know times have changed, but, you know, they, they never took offensive linemen in the first round.

I mean, they’re, they’re The, those days of the ’80s and, and part of the ’90s, you know, their, their Mike McGlinchey was Harris Barton, who was a really good player, but he was the only first-round pick that they took.

And, you know, the, the thing, I, I went through this, went through every team’s drafts, since 2020.

You mentioned this.

49ers have only taken, an offensive lineman in the first two rounds one time since 2020.

Now, you know, I, I went through, you know, which teams have taken top 10 picks offensive line, picks 11 through 20 offensive line, 21 through 32 offensive line, and second round.

49ers second-round pick, Aaron Banks, that was in 2021.

Now, so that’s just one pick, one offensive lineman in the first two rounds.

listen to the teams that have picked a lot of offensive linemen in the first two rounds.

The Jets, five offensive linemen in the first two rounds since 2020, and because they’re bad, a lot of those picks are really high picks.

Mm-hmm.

Miami, five offensive linemen, Houston, four, Minnesota, four, New Orleans, four, Tennessee, four, Tampa, four, Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, all three.

You know what?

I mean, there are some good teams in there- Mm-hmm but the Jets with their five offensive linemen that they’ve selected and what, what’s that done for them?

They finished- Right three and 14 last year.

You know, the Dolphins, five offensive linemen, they were seven and 10, and got, they got their head coach fired.

Houston had a good season last year.

Minnesota was kind of a 500 team.

New Orleans, with all that emphasis, on And New Orleans and Tennessee, a lot of emphasis on offensive linemen.

They were, they were bad.

They were, you know, six and 11 and three and 14.So what, what I’ve come to realize and recognize is teams that continually take offensive linemen high in the draft are teams that don’t improve.

They, those players don’t make a big difference.

I think you’d be much better off taking, you know, defensive linemen or- Mm-hmm playmakers.

so I don’t know.

I, I just don’t think there’s any correlation between taking offensive linemen early in drafts and winning football games.

I just think that for offensive linemen, there are a few standouts, right?

Like Trent Williams, where they go in and they start immediately and make an impact on the game and protect the quarterback, and they’re run blockers.

But yeah, I mean, would you, would any 49ers fan wanna trade the 49ers offensive line for the Jets offensive line?

I don’t think so.

Right?

It’s- I don’t think so either, yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, so it’s all, so much about development, and it’s about learning what Kyle Shanahan wants, and it takes a while.

I mean, it takes wide receivers a while to get up to speed.

There’s very few players that come into the NFL, I think maybe a little, be a little bit more now that guys are staying in college a little bit longer, but still, I, I think there’s so much time that needs to be spent learning what Kyle Shanahan wants them to do, the outside zone running attack, getting up to speed with, you know, guys that are going to be faster, bigger, stronger on the defensive side.

Very few players on the offense come into the NFL and immediately light it up.

It’s just- it’s such a huge jump in talent level.

Guys that have, you know, and I, I talk about this a lot when it talks, when you talk about Brock Purdy, because he had to work so hard throughout his entire high school career and college career, he has that work ethic.

A lot of guys that go in the first round have kind of had it easier.

Mm-hmm.

They’ve played on star-studded teams.

They’ve had great talent around them, so it’s been a little easier for them.

I mean, I think there’s a lot of first-round quarterbacks that have come into the league that, you know, think that they’re going to immediately have a Hall of Fame, you know, All-Pro type of year, but it takes longer than that.

It’s, you’re going against a different group of people.

You have to have, you know, you don’t necessarily have that star power all around you in your other 10 players on the field.

You’re going against guys who are, you know, if you’re on the offense, you’re going against guys like Fred Warner, who, you know, does everything on the field.

You don’t get guys like Fred Warner, and it took him a while to get there, but, you know, you’re not going against that when you’re in college.

It’s just a huge jump, even though, you know, and it I mean, you were covering the NFL when guys would sit for a while before they actually started.

Now it’s the what have you done for me lately?

They get thrown into the fire.

I don’t think it’s necessarily good for talent to be forced to do that.

I think, you know- Yeah learning and, and developing more is better for longevity, but, you know, it is, you know, you know, they’ve got to get their high picks out there and I guess making a difference for them.

Yeah.

I, I think offensive line too, so much of it is not necessarily the individual skills as much as it is, you know, fitting together.

Mm-hmm.

you know, the, the continuity of, you know, teamwork.

I, I would, I would think that so many of, you know, breakdowns on the offensive line, pass protection or whatnot, aren’t necessarily physical in nature.

They’re more mental or lacking teamwork, being on the, the wrong page.

I mean, you know, it, it always is, it always has been probably the smartest guys in the room, don’t tell the other position groups this, but probably the smartest guys in the room when you walk into an NFL locker room are the offensive linemen, ’cause they have to be, because their, their job depends on it, the guy lining up next to him, they all have to be working in unison.

They have to be able to make adjustments on the fly, and, and working together is such a huge part of that, so, all that- And such little time, and such little time for them to make a decision, right?

So they’ve got a defensive lineman inches from them, so to, they have to do everything exactly right with the little amount of time.

I mean, it doesn’t take long for a defensive lineman to get up to the line of scrimmage.

They’re right there.

So it takes such less, I mean, there’s so much little time, so much smaller margin of error for an offensive lineman in a game than, I think, almost any other player that’s out there.

Yeah.

And, and let’s face it, the, a lot of times they’re simply overmatched physically because- Mm-hmm those are tremendous athletes on the defensive line.

Okay, all that said, let’s talk about offensive line with with Field Yates, draft expert for ESPN.

He, he knows his stuff.

And, and I, I do think that, you know, by and large, I would say the preponderance of 49ers fans would like to see them draft an offensive lineman until maybe they do draft an offensive lineman, and then they’ll be saying, “Why didn’t they take that wide receiver at that spot instead?”

I mean, it, it wasn’t that long ago when they drafted Mike McGlinchey in, at number nine.

Uh-huh.

And how much did, how much criticism did Mike McGlinchey get?

I mean, he was, he And i- it’s funny also, offensive linemen, right?

They either have There’s very few that are excellent at both run bo- blocking and pass protection.

Mike McGlinchey’s a better run blocker than he is a pass protector.

He’s good at both, but he’s a better run blocker.

I mean, how much criticism did he get from 49ers fans?

A ton.

No, a ton, and, and he ended up signing a huge contract with Denver, and it tells you something that, I believe he’ll be entering-His third season with Denver?

Does that sound right?

Yeah- third or fourth?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And so they haven’t, they haven’t touched that contract, you know?

So they feel like they’re getting their money’s wor- worth from, from Mike McGlinchey, and I think the 49ers feel very good about their right tackle position in Colt Mckivitz.

And as you and I have talked about, there still is the Trent Williams situation kinda lingering- Mm-hmm and that’s a great way to start off with Field Yates.

I don’t need to tell the story again about, you know, me being his uncle and he’s my nephew.

maybe at some point down the road, if people don’t know the story, we can, we can rehash that.

But, let- let’s get into it with Field Yates.

I kept him far longer than I think he had, bargained for, but we had a great time.

And so let, let’s just, let’s kick it off with, with Field Yates, welcoming him to 49ers Talk, and we’ll get into it with some offensive line conversation.

All right.

This section of 49ers Talk is brought to you by your local Toyota dealers, Toyota, Let’s Go Places.

And we are going across the country, with Field Yates.

I, I feel like you’re a family member, Field, an honorary family member, or am I one of your honorary family members?

I, I was thinking that.

You know me what you are?

You’re my- Yeah honorary uncle.

You’re my- Yes honorary uncle.

I feel, very blessed to be your honorary nephew, and I missed you at the Combine, which was sad.

we’ll have to make up for it at the family reunion this summer.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yes.

Where is that, by the way?

Have we decided on a location?

I, I don’t know.

Don’t we switch coasts every year?

Yes.

Is that what we do?

Yes, it’s like the NFL owners meetings.

We go- we fluctuate between San Francisco and Connecticut.

It- Slight upgrade, when we go to the Bay Area as opposed to here in dreary Actually, not totally dreary today, but often dreary Connecticut, where I find myself at this moment.

Well, the, the sun is always shining on you because- Thank you of the NFL Draft, Field.

I, I know this is your time of year.

Just how, how busy is this time of year for you, or is pretty much the hay in the, you know, is the hay in the barn at this point?

The hay’s almost in the barn.

So actually, before you and I were talking, I was working on, I do a top 150 big board.

there are 369 players in my database.

I keep it at 150.

That, that’s sort of per ESPN’s request.

that’s what they asked me to, to get to.

I, I probably will end up sort of grading, you know, beyond 150.

You know, there are definitely guys that just missed the cut that you can easily pencil in as 151 to 175, if you will.

and then also just good to have some semblance of where guys grade out when you’re going through the draft, and it’s the sixth round, and you’re looking for players that might be of interest to teams.

and as you and I, and probably most people listening to or watching this right now know, as we get further away from pick one, variance really, really picks up.

Mm-hmm.

A guy that the Niners might have graded in the sixth round, the Rams might have as an undrafted free agent or vice versa.

but yeah, the hay is almost in the barn.

Like, there’s no players as of right now that I haven’t gotten a good feel for, that I would like to between now and April 23rd.

There are always possibilities of names that pop up, but it’s I feel more taskmaster and administrator than I do evaluator right now.

Yeah.

It’s getting all my documents lined up- Yeah so that we can actually get ready for showtime on April 23rd.

H- when you put together your list, how much do you project or just know what, what teams might be feeling about a guy?

Yeah.

And if there’s a variance of, man, I really like this guy, but, you know, the feedback I’ve gotten from teams is that they’re not high on him, how do you balance that?

I would say that as we get closer, or the, the closer we are to number one overall, the more you try to be close to the pin with where the NFL’s gonna b- see that player.

Mm-hmm.

I’m not saying that, you know, you have to have If Ruben Bain goes sixth overall and you have him at 12th, it’s not, that, that to me is not some gigantic error, right?

That’s personal preference more so than it is, hey, you misevaluated the player.

But I would like to think that my, you know, my final mock draft of 32 players will largely include players in my top probably 35 or 40 highest graded prospects.

Okay.

And the hope is to have, you know, 25, 24, 25, all the way up to 32 of the right players in that final mock draft, that actually go in the first round.

But as you get into day three, just go look, like, through the tales of time.

Like, there are just a million different players that, you know, some teams see one way, other teams see another way.

And I remember last year when the, was it the fourth round where the, Niners took Jordan Watkins?

Was that fourth round?

Yeah, mm-hmm.

Fourth round, and I remember I was like, “Oh, I think I had him in the sixth round.”

Oh.

And it’s not like, what’s the difference, what’s the difference between a fourth and a sixth round grade, right?

The Niners, depending on how much draft capital you have in round four, you may only have two picks left, and you’re saying to yourself, “Well, he’s here now.

He might not be here when the next pick that we make comes across the board.

So do we just take the player that we really like right now, that we feel like is an important add to our wide receiver room?”

And so I do think that, day three is a little bit more about, like, securing what you desire as opposed to day one and, and day two as well.

You always hear GMs and coaches at the owners meetings talk about, “We gotta draft for value.

We gotta draft for value.”

That value really hits on day one and day two.

You’re right.

Hey, be- before we get into 49ers talk and, and what they might be doing, I wanted to ask you a question ’cause he was, you know, I consider him a local guy, Fernando Mendoza- Yeah who played at Cal.

What A- and there’s, I guess there’s no way to answer this question.

But would Fernando Mendoza be the number one overall pick if he stayed at Cal?

I tell you, I, I think there’s a chance that he would’ve been, and, and there are a couple of things that he showed this year that I think were unlocked because of probably a superior supporting cast, offensive line specifically, and then probably, you know, some, advanced coaching, to take nothing away from the offensive staff at Cal.

Obviously, Indiana, they were not just 16 and 0, the national champs, because of great players.

They had great coaching.

Indiana’s gonna have probably two first round picksMaybe two day two picks in D’Angelo Pons and also wide receiver Elijah Surratt.

But this is not, you know, we’ve seen prior national champions where, you know, Ohio State wins it and they have six first-round picks.

They have fifteen picks total.

Indiana’s got a lot of NFL talent, but the roster was not at the same level in terms of graduating talent as other teams that we have seen recently win the national championship.

As a matter of fact, Miami’s roster was probably better top to bottom in terms of graduating talent or departing talent.

That’s why we’re going to see Reuben Bain and Akeem Mesador and Keontay Scott go on day two.

And, you know, there are going to be a lot of Miami guys.

Carson Beck probably go day two, early day three.

There’s a lot of talent there at Miami.

So I think that Fernando got a benefit in some ways from improved talent, also improved coaching.

But I think he showed some improvement in a critical area that might have also been a little bit of just like self-scouting, which was, and those who follow Cal probably recall two years ago behind a bad offensive line, he took the second most sacks in the FBS.

Only Shedeur Sanders took more in twenty twenty-four, and he took one more than Fernando did.

And there were some talent there at Cal.

You know, Jack Endries, who ended up at Texas, and Jaden Ott, who ended up at Oklahoma.

Both guys kind of had, I mean, Ott was a non-factor for Oklahoma, and Endries picked things up late in the season for Texas, but kind of got lost in the shuffle there.

So he was throwing to some legitimate NFL pieces, but the offensive line was really a work in progress.

So is there a pathway that he could have been the number one pick in the draft?

Yes.

Are the odds as strong?

I think it’s fair to say no.

Okay.

Well, let’s dig into it with the Forty-Niners, the field dates of ESPN and the first draft podcast.

You know, the one issue right now kind of surrounding the Forty-Niners as the draft approaches is Trent Williams, his contract situation.

I think that’s going to get resolved.

John Lynch said that they feel like they’re on the precipice of getting something resolved.

But let’s just say it falls apart.

What would the Forty-Niners options be at twenty-seven if they were looking for the Trent Williams replacement?

Yeah.

So a couple of things here.

I would say that both John Lynch’s words, I think that we typically see GMs or coaches ignore answering the question when there’s no progress and when they acknowledge that like things are getting closer.

That’s a really risky thing to do if things aren’t actually getting pretty close.

That can frustrate an agent or a player.

So unless you’re actually gaining steam, I don’t think you say what John Lynch said.

On top of that, I don’t think this specific organization would hang that player or any player out to dry like this.

And you can invoke Brandon Aiyuk responses right now.

I would put him into a very, very unique category.

But if you’re going to hold on to Trent Williams and keep his fate to be determined and then cut him right before the draft or when is the option bonus deadline, the twenty-fifth?

Is that what it is, the thirty-day?

It’s already passed.

So what happened was that- There was a second one.

Okay.

Yeah, that ten million dollar option bonus just kind of reverts to base salary, non-guaranteed base salary.

Right.

So non-guaranteed base salary.

My apologies on that.

But basically like there is, I guess now not a specific deadline, but I don’t think you let a player’s future hang in the balance at this age with that much cap space having dried up around the NFL.

He would find a home with Trent, but options are more limited now and they will be even further limited after the NFL draft when teams will fill their left tackle needs.

It’s hard to replace Trent, saying all the obvious things, great player, Hall of Famer, even at his, you know, his advanced age, he is still a very, very good player when healthy.

If you are going to look at offensive tackle in the first round, and I remember in some of the earlier mocks, responses from Niners fans was just check the history.

They don’t take offensive linemen in the first round.

I hear that.

The Packers also didn’t take wide receivers in the first round until they did last year, right?

So just take one year to be the anomaly.

I think there are probably seven offensive tackles that will go in the first, call it thirty-five or so picks, which could mean the first thirty-two picks.

People know by now, Francis Maunawa, I think he’s going to be long gone.

Spencer Fano from Utah, Monroe Frieling from Georgia.

I think those guys all long, long gone.

Kayden Proctor from Alabama is a name that I think at one point felt a little bit more realistic for the Niners.

He is, he’s not quite Trent, but like Trent, he’s one of those guys that like, you just don’t see many people like Kayden Proctor walking around six foot seven, three hundred fifty-two pounds, but carries extremely well.

Weight was at times he had to kind of corral it during his college career.

I think he’s gone by then.

So the names that I think could be on the radar at twenty-seven would be the likes of Maxie Honetore, who finished up at Arizona State, played at East Los Angeles Community College.

I don’t know how many NFL alumni they have.

I’d venture to guess that Max is one of the first, if not the first.

He didn’t play high school football.

He was a high school soccer player, born in Nigeria, has a minimal football background, but put it on, put it all together pretty quickly.

This is, I’m not sure that it was a perfect game, but one of Max’s sort of like bullet points in his resume going into the draft is he didn’t get embarrassed against Texas Tech, which Texas Tech has, you know, two dominant edge rushers, one of which David Bailey could be the second pick in the draft.

And they made a lot of offensive tackles look silly.

Utah, who has two first-round offensive tackles, one of which I’ll mention in a moment, had their hands full against Texas Tech that day.

A lot of other offensive tackles did.

Max played right tackle, very, very easy to see him move to left tackle, especially if he had to, or if he could play behind Trent Williams for a year.

He’s got the athletic movements, wouldn’t be concerned.

And given that he is already a quick study, we know that from him being this far along in five years of football, evidence that he could be a good left tackle.

And then Caleb Lomo is the other offensive tackle that I think bears some mentioning.

He was a left tackle for the past couple of seasons at Utah.

He’s aThird year true soph- tr- redshirt sophomore, so he’s played two seasons of ball, played opposite of Spencer Fano, but Caleb Lomu’s arrival or, or, or I guess ascendance allowed, ascent allowed them to move Fano to the right side, or maybe that was Fano’s preference.

But the bottom line is that Lomu held down the, you know, the quote-unquote “more valuable” offensive tackle spot at the left side of the line.

did not allow a sack this past year.

I would say that, and this is a category that I think, people might hear and think it’s underwhelming, but I consider it a, a positive, is he’s a very steady Eddie player.

not the biggest guy, not the flashiest guy, not the strongest guy yet.

He’s got to improve that.

His base could really use probably another eight to 10 or 12 pounds of, of, of muscle through his core.

but you know, they say that you sometimes need the, the steak, sometimes you need the sizzle.

He’s the steak, not the sizzle, ’cause he just got the job done.

Very accurate, controlled striker in the running game.

Just plays with really good feet underneath him consistently, and it was a dominant run-blocking scheme, at Utah.

That was one that they have done very well over the past couple of years.

We know in San Francisco you need a certain type of athlete at, along the offensive line, and I think that Caleb Lomu would fall into that athletic category where he could fit.

So Fano here, L- Lomu a little bit below him?

I think, yeah.

Like, I think Fano probably in the first, I think the first half of the first round conservatively, and I think Lomu’s somewhere in the late teens to late 20s would be the range there.

Okay.

you know, and I, I was looking at this a, a couple weeks ago.

You know, typically when teams transition from one left tackle to another- Yeah there, there’s really not a succession plan.

You know- Mm-hmm it’s not like, you know, teams have their, their eventual left tackle starter on their roster for a year or two.

It’s usually whenever a team needs a left tackle, they draft one and they, they put him in there- Yeah you know, with, with very few exceptions.

So I’ll, I’ll ask this question anyway.

If the 49ers were to look later, second or third or, fourth round, they have four fourth-round picks.

Yeah.

Is there somebody that kinda stands out as a good fit for the 49ers who, who could be there i, in one of those fourth-round slots?

Yeah, so as, as, I think we should just acknowledge that when you get down to the fourth round, counting on that player as Yeah, like, I think once you get to the fourth round, you’re saying to yourself, like, the upside is becoming a starter, but the practical reality along the offensive line is it could very well just be a depth piece.

But a couple of names that come to mind, and, some have right tackle experience, some have left tackle experience.

Travis Burke from Memphis is a guy that’s gained a lot of momentum recently, 6’9″.

I mentioned Caleb Proctor, Caden Proctor, excuse me, having uncoachable traits, and just looking different than everybody else.

Travis Burke fits in that category as well.

If the Warriors needed to sign him to a 10-day, he could probably play power forward for them.

He’s just gigantic.

he i-is, is just He reminds me a little bit, or the theory of the case reminds me a little bit of Jalen Travis, who went in the fourth round to the Colts a couple years ago.

He went to, from Princeton to Iowa State during his final season.

And I remember watching him, at, at the Senior Bowl, and, you know, just athletically he was solid but not spectacular to me.

and you’re saying to yourself, like, “I don’t I just…” You see the foot quickness of other guys, and you watch him and you’re like, “Is that good enough?”

And what, what dawned on me after he went higher than I had him graded was that, like, in order to get around a player like Jalen Travis, or in this case Travis Burke, you have to take the scenic route, right?

So, like, it, it’s just hard to 6’9″, if, even if you’re not the fastest or, or twitchiest offensive tackle ever, you just kinda nudge a guy, you’ve got a chance with, with your length.

Demetrius Crownover from Texas A&M, also a career right tackle, a guy Both these guys could go late third, so that, that pick that they traded away to Dallas, 92 I think it was- Yeah might be reasonable ranges for both of those guys.

Let me pull up my board right now just to see if there’s other offensive tackle names that I like, that could be in the mix.

All right, I’ll give you a couple names.

Cage Casey would be a name, Cage Casey from Boise State, probably on that third, fourth round range, very experienced, steady left tackle.

Markel Bell from Miami, another guy.

Geez, I’ve given you three guys that just are different categories- Yeah of, of physical specimens.

Markel Bell, nearly 6’9″.

He had, like, an 87-inch wingspan, just, which is almost literally off the charts.

Jude Bowery from Boston College, another guy who’s got some experience over the past couple of years, has some guard experience as well.

and then one more name that I would throw into this mix is Drew Shelton from Penn State, who would be kind of the opposite.

He’s a lighter, not super long offensive tackle, or a little bit lighter, I should say, offensive tackle.

the length is fine, but just, like, 315-ish pounds, but very athletic, a guy, a guy who has played high-leverage football.

The Big 10, as we know, has been just ridiculously successful in recent years producing all sorts of talents.

But, he was battle-tested, and I like battle-tested players.

not that guys have to have played at the highest level for a long period of time to become successful pros.

We see that, but, there was a guy last year who came out of William & Mary, Charles Grant, who went to the Niner, to the, the Raiders- Right former Bay Area team.

I think it was, like, 101st overall right at the end of the third round, and he’s gonna be a good player.

I do believe that.

He’s just a trickier projection because even though he was this super long offensive tackle, you didn’t really see it against high-level competition very consistently other than at the Senior Bowl.

So, I think Drew Shelton’s a name that I think makes some level of sense in the fourth round.

If they were to address the offensive tackle spot in the second round, this might be a little rich in some people’s eyes, but Austin Barber is a player from Florida that I’m a big fan of, just a physical, nasty run blocker, really good athlete as well, and he’s a big boy.

He’s 6’7″, so not quite that 6’8″, 6’9″ level that we’re talking about with Markel Bell and Travis Burke, but definitely has some great sides.

Well, while we’re talking about offensive line, really the only opening, again, assuming that Trent Williams is, is on the team, the only opening they have for a starting spot- Yeah is left guard.

Mm-hmm.

I don’t think they have their starter right there.

So, I mean, i-is it possible if they were toKind of surprise people and, and take a guard at 27 or I guess 58 with- Yeah with, that’s their second round pick.

Who, who would stand out?

Who would be somebody that they would just slide in, no questions asked, and there’s their starter?

Yeah.

Let’s, let’s work through this.

Y- you know, and, and so funny about the draft and surprising because, like, it may be surprising to us, that’s the thing about the draft is that I respect the teams, I think the Niners fall into this category, who do their evaluations and they evaluate for their own squad, their own needs, their own scheme, their own archetypes, right?

Consensus means something.

It’s important, right?

Like, you don’t wanna be taking a guy at 27 that you th- that the rest of the league forecasts to be available at, you know, the late 50s or, you know, 75 obviously.

Yeah.

But sometimes when you go your own way, you can find your best picks period.

and San Francisco has shown themselves, I think, to be pretty convicted in how they go about their business.

but guards I think are sort of conventionally, likely to go somewhere between, let’s call it 27 and, like, 40 would be Chase Pasantes, who I know you and I have talked about offline.

Texas A&M.

He’s a Jersey kid.

went down to Texas A&M, played right tackle for a year and two seasons as their left guard.

Very fast and active hands.

Great athlete.

can really handle some of those, defensive tackles trying to work across the face of him, which is important when you get these games and stunts all the time and that division’s- got no shortage of great defensive linemen that you’ll see them from.

he’s gotta, gotta get stronger.

Has to.

played against Miami in their playoff game, and Miami’s got a great D line, and they gave him the business.

t- too, too frequently to be honest with you.

But, um- But a g- a good scheme fit, right?

Yeah, he would be- For the area a great scheme fit.

Just, you know, obviously the athletic ability and the ability to play in that, that zone scheme on the, on, on the ground is, is huge.

Keelon Rutledge is a guy that I’ve had as sort of been, like, one of my, one of, I guess my guys, I guess that’s probably the easiest way to describe him, throughout the process.

Georgia Tech, big, physical, nasty.

Nickname is Red ’cause of his hair.

that program I think has sort of been defined in recent years by tough, gritty ballplayers, and he’s been very near the top of that list along with their quarterback, Haynes King, who I think gets drafted on day three.

he’s just a no-nonsense tone-setter and is, he had a good showing at the combine as well.

Probably not as athletic as Basantes, but I had him going 35th in my most recent multiple round mock.

So 27 I think would be viewed by some as a semi-reach.

I think I’d be, I, I’m, I’m more okay with it this year because this is the year where no one can really agree on things.

It’s a really tough class to size up, so just be expecting night one, night two, and definitely on day three to see some grades where it’s like, “Holy crap,” like- or some picks where it’s like- Right “They took him then?”

Like- Right that’s just going to be what happens in this year’s I just think this draft, that’s how, that’s how things are gonna shape up.

All right, enough, offensive line talk to, to last you until draft time.

But, um- Now you got everybody thinking they’re gonna take an offensive lineman Yeah.

Well, why not?

We’ll get these people- Yeah fired up.

I- Um- I mean, I think at some point in the draft they will.

They have to add depth.

They need to have someone they can develop- Well, no, not just depth, Jennifer and I think, yeah.

They need a starter at left guard- Right, right I think.

Right?

Mm-hmm.

Yep.

So I, I think second round or, you know, yeah.

Maybe even fourth?

Maybe fourth.

Maybe fourth?

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Yeah.

what other positions could you see them taking at 27?

outside of- I mean, obviously, obviously defensive end.

Right.

Can you think anyone at the- defensive end to me is at the top of the shopping list.

I think offensive line is always a good one.

looking at where they needed help last year, I dunno, they’ve drafted so many wide receivers, I don’t know whether they go there again.

Maybe I mean, they picked up Mike Evans and Christian Kirk, so they did replenish that wide receiver room, but they’ve got these young guys that need to, to step up and, and really contribute on the field.

So I would think maybe, maybe later fourth round.

But I mean, again- if the best guy on their list, on the, best guy on their draft board is a wide receiver when they get to that pick, I think that’s what they do.

It’s, you know, it’s who can make a difference on the field, who is at the top of the list.

I remember last year John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan talked about how they didn’t take an offensive lineman till the seventh round, that was Connor Colby, because every time an offensive lineman came up that they were going to take, someone right before them took that offensive lineman.

So it’s not like offensive linemen aren’t part of their priority or aren’t on their draft board, it just sometimes it’s how the draft falls, who’s in front of them, who takes, n- you know, what they had planned, and then they have to pivot and go to their next player.

So, I do think, like you’ve said in the past, safety is something, a position that they could look at because I think they’re very happy with Malik Mustafa, but looking at Ji’Ayir Brown, he’s had his ups and downs.

Marquis Siegel, I think they really liked him and he hasn’t been able to get on the field yet.

Still kind of an unknown quantity, so maybe they add some depth here, there.

And looking at defensive backs, they always suffer injuries throughout- Mm-hmm a season, so having depth at defensive back, whether it’s safety or corner, I think is always something that a team would look at.

Yeah.

W- we don’t know the entire list of 49ers top 30 visits.

Those are players, from outside the area who can come in, 49ers can bring in, all NFL teams can bring 30 players in from outside, the area.

But, the, the names that have leaked so far, four wide receivers, Denzel Boston from Washington, Casey Concepcion from, Texas A&M, Omar Cooper Jr. from Indiana, and Caleb Douglas from Texas Tech.

So, you know, you know wide receiver is on their list, is on- Right their, their shortlist.

Y- John Lynch did say something interestingAt any, it w-, you know, he didn’t really harp on it, but someone asked him about, the need at wide receiver and taking a wide receiver early, and he kinda, he opened by just like, “Well, I don’t know about early, but we’ll be looking.”

So he made it sound like the intention wasn’t to take a wide receiver in the first round, but you look at who they’re bringing in for these visits, those guys that I’ve mentioned, most of them anyway, they’re gonna be first-round draft picks.

Or, or if you don’t get them at 27, you’re not gonna have a chance to get them at 58.

So I don’t know if it’s smokescreen or if, if- Diversion tactics if, if him talking to us and saying, “I don’t know about taking a wide receiver early,” I mean, he basically made it sound like that wasn’t gonna happen.

So was that the- Mm-hmm smokescreen, or is bringing in these wide receivers the s- the smokescreen?

But we shall see.

I think there’s, there’s always a little bit of both.

I know that in the past they’ve had players come in for 30 visits that they had no intention of drafting just to throw somebody off that, you know, that was who they were looking at.

So it does happen.

It also happens where they don’t have any visits with someone who they’re really coveting because they don’t want anyone else to know that they’re coveting that player.

So, it does happen.

30 visits do- doesn’t necessarily mean that that is a player on their list.

It does sometimes, you know, it little, little, like you said, smokescreen or diversion.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, we, we did cover the, the offensive line with Field Yates.

we’ll toss it- Just a little bit.

Yeah, just a little bit, and, we’ll, we’ll toss it back to, to Field, my conversation with Field as we hit on some of the other positions that the 49ers could address, not just in the first round, but a little bit later on as well.

49ers have one pick in the first round at 27, one pick in the second round at 58, and then four picks in the fourth round.

So here is the conclusion of my little discussion, our draft talk with Field Yates of ESPN.

You look at the 49ers, 20 sacks last season in the NFL- Yeah, they gotta get better there low.

A- and of course, you know, Nick Bosa coming back will help, but, you know- And hopefully Mykel, right?

Hopefully Mykel helps And hopefully Mykel Williams, yep.

And so I, I saw, I think in your latest mock you had them taking Kedrick Faulk.

Yep.

And, and so I’ve had them over the course of time here taking, let’s see, Zion Young- Yeah TJ Parker- Yeah Cassius Howell.

Yeah.

So what’s, what’s realistic there at 27 for the 49ers if they were to go edge?

Those are all the right names.

Kedrick Faulk kind of reminds me of Mykel Williams in this sense.

You, I, I’m sure you recall this, but, like, Mykel, there were times last year where people were saying like, “Yeah, I think he’s more like mid to late first,” and then I’d sort of say to myself, “But he’s 6’7 or 6’6 and a half.”

I, I used to always say about Mykel he looked like he should be playing power forward in the NBA.

just rare physical traits.

Georgia, one thing about Georgia guys is that they rotate, and they don’t ask you to pin your ears back and go.

That’s just not how- Mm-hmm they play defense.

They play defense, I tell people this, they play defense like the old school Patriots used to play defense with Bill Belichick as their head coach.

It was gap control, it was discipline, it was resetting the line of scrimmage.

So we’ll see on Mykel, obviously missed a lot of time this past year.

I, I, I trust your assessment of what he showed in that brief period of time more than my own, but certainly hope he finds his way and becomes the kinda player that’s worthy of that, what, ninth overall pick last year.

Kedrick Faulk, who did not dominate this past season, just two sacks, 21 years old though, has very good physical traits, two years ago was a very impressive player as a true sophomore for, Auburn, has some of the best football character, just p- just character period in this class.

He’s super, like, just a great young man.

SF matters in the evaluation process, so I think he’s got a chance to be one of those guys that the feeling is he might slide out of the first round, and then could he go like 20th or 27th?

Wouldn’t surprise me.

Cassius Howell is kind of the opposite in the sense that, like, Kedrick Faulk is all about the, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s the traits, right?

It’s the length and the height, weight, speed.

Cassius Howell, 30-and-a-half inch arms, that’s historically low, or historically short for an edge rusher to go in the first round, but man, he can rush.

11 and a half sacks last season, SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Zion Young, Missouri, six-and-a-half sacks last season, had a late season arrest, which teams gotta get really comfortable with where that was at.

but a powerful player, was a defensive tackle early in his college career at Michigan State who kinda changed his body and became more of an edge rusher.

Kinda good across the board in terms of measurables.

Not a dominant athlete though, not a superior first-step quickness.

the Niners, at least to my eyes, have, have traditionally favored these guys that can be behind the line of scrimmage disruptors.

Little bit less of that in the profile of Zion Young, little bit more of that in the profile of a guy like Cassius Howell.

I, and, you know, looking at your, your top 50- Yep Armon Thomas, you really think highly of him, don’t you?

I do, yeah.

And h- he might get S- so I, I think I had him 24 maybe.

Is that right?

In the, in this version?

I think you have him, yeah, that’s exactly right.

Yes, 24.

Yeah, 24.

So those’ll get, those’ll get nudges here or there, but I, I still have him, I’ll have him inside my top 32, by the time we get to the draft.

just maximum full tilt player.

the testing wasn’t perfect this past s- in the combine at 4.67 for the 40.

I think there was some hope he could be a little bit higher up there.

It’s one of those where it’s like he just plays faster than he tests, and he’s tenacious.

He gave Caden Proctor some good business in the Alabama/Oklahoma playoff game.

Got heavy hands, was just really productive over the past two seasons when he played, 15 and a half sacks.

Got hurt this year on kind of a funky, quirky play.

He got hurt when he was returning a f- a fumble that he hadrecovered for a touchdown.

You can watch him.

He like pulls up at like the twelve-yard line and kinda just gimps his way into the end zone.

but he, he, he is a very, very productive rusher, and I think he’s not the kinda guy that you Like, there are certain players that you gotta worry about sack hunting.

Are they just interested in the sack hunting?

And there are certain guys where they are equally invested in setting the edge and being a capable run defender.

Now, the thing that I will say will matter in the division, the, the, the 49ers play in with two excellent ground attacks in Seattle and also Los Angeles.

and but also, it’s third and eight, and you just want this guy to let it rip, Armoni Thomas can do that.

talking about surprises, you know, I wouldn’t be shocked, would not be shocked if the 49ers at 27 took a safety.

Okay.

Um- Ooh, I like it.

Yeah.

And s- and so, you know, everybody- I’d then I’d mock accordingly w-would would, is, is, Dylan Thieneman, would he be there at that point?

Yeah.

the kid from Toledo.

Yeah.

do you expect them both to be off the board at that point?

I think there, I think there’s a pretty decent chance one of the two of them is off the board.

Dylan Thieneman, I gotta give a shout-out to the recruiting department at Purdue ’cause there was a time where they had Nick Scorton, second round pick last year, Deion Burks will be a probably third round pick this year at Oklahoma, Dylan Thieneman, probably a first round pick this year, Max Clare, the tight end at Ohio State, probably a third round, fourth round pick this year.

On the roster, like, they can get guys.

They just have a hard time keeping them in this world of NIL.

You’re, you’re saying they better increase their NIL budget.

That’s what you’re saying.

That’s correct.

They need to, pool their resources a bit more effectively.

but Dylan Thieneman was a two-year player at, at, Purdue, six interceptions as a true freshman, led the Big Ten in tackles amongst defensive backs one of his years at Purdue, so he’s kinda produced in all levels and then blew the testing out of the water.

I mean, 4.3, 5-40, 40-plus inch vertical, ball skills excellent all the way around.

you know, body armor’s okay.

He’s not a gigantic safety, so I think there’s a chance he could go as high as like Everybody has been locking him to the Vikings.

I’ve decided I can’t do that anymore because it’s just happened so much, and nothing goes that chalky when it’s the 18th pick.

Like, Fernando Mendoza to the Niners, I’m sorry, to the Raiders, fine.

but beyond that, we gotta be a little less chalky.

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren from Toledo is the other safety you’re referencing, 6.3 and a half, so he’s huge, like a string bean.

had really good production this past season.

He had three forced fumbles, six pass breakups, had a great game and a showcase game for Toledo early in the season against Kentucky.

Kentucky may not be a top SEC school, but that’s a big game for Toledo.

Yeah.

Huge game, and he was awesome, interception, all over the place.

He’s a disruptor.

He’s a dislodger.

Ran a 4.52 at the combine.

There are times where I think he needs to be a little bit less of an ankle biter as a tackler, gotta like just, you know, trust his, his form and his technique and his And he does have an, like, he’s not a super bulky safety, but he’s tall enough that he can put some more muscle on that frame and trust his frame as a tackler more.

But I like the thought here.

both of those guys, I think at least one of those guys will be available at 27.

Really?

And, and then would there be anybody else, Hulsey or Clark who sneak into the first round?

I think they’re more day two guys, and that’s gonna be one where it’s like, what type of safety are you looking for?

Bud Clark, like Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, like Dylan Thieneman, more of a free safety, gonna play center field for you, really cut down explosive plays, great, and I mean great ball skills, very str- Bud’s a multi-year captain at TCU, was a big part of their team that played in the national title game.

They got walloped, that’s okay.

but he’s a really, really experienced high-level player.

A.J.

Hulsey’s got eight picks over the past two years at Houston and then LSU this past season.

He, he looks like a small linebacker.

He is, he’s, he’s jacked up now.

He ran a 4.54, 40, but he is very sturdy, very powerful, very, obviously great ball skills as well.

he’s gonna be more of like that rocket you play as a strong safety that can impact the running game on top of the passing game.

So, it depends on what style of safety you’re looking for.

You know, la-last week of the annual meeting, John Lynch was asked about, you know, take, the possibility of taking a wide receiver early, and, and he kinda just immediately said, “Well, I don’t know about early, but yes, they’ll be looking for a wide receiver.”

You know, they’ve, they signed Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, so I’ll kinda take him at face value.

I mean, I know they’re bringing in Casey Concepcion and, and Omar Cooper and Denzel Boston- Yep who are guys that, you know, would be targets at 27, I would imagine.

Mm-hmm.

But let’s, let’s go to the fourth round.

Wide receivers in the fourth round, they do have Jordan Watkins, who didn’t do anything as a rookie- Yeah but they seem to have a high opinion of.

Mm-hmm.

who falls between where the 49ers pick in the fourth round, which is 127 and 139?

So they have a, a four-pick slot there where, they can check a lot of boxes.

Yeah, I’ll give you a couple names that I think might be in that range, and I’ll, I guess I should note the caveat that the further we get down from one, the more grades vary.

Malik Benson, from Oregon, is fast, just fast, fast, 4.37 40, plays fast, big plays left and right, lot of explosives, 20-plus yarders during his time at Oregon.

He’s a lanky guy, like he’s not gonna run through press coverage.

He’s not gonna break a million tackles, and if you get him the ball in a short area screen opportunity, but speed can kill in the NFL, and he is very fast.

another name that I like is Colby Young.

team’s gotta be care, comfortable with some of the stuff, some of the health stuff he’s gone through and, um-But he is o-out of Georgia, big, physical.

I mean, there was a time last year where it was like, to me, looked like their best wide receiver.

He won’t be their number one wide receiver drafted, that’d be Zachariah Branch.

but Colby Young, big, fast, strong hands, good with the football in his hands.

It’s like kind of a good starter kit, of where to go, in the fourth round.

So, the Niners are one of those teams.

It’s interesting though because, yeah, they are fine to line up week one this year with a, if healthy, trio of- Yeah Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, probably Christian Kirk, right?

but Mike, Christian, I know Mike’s signed to a three-year deal, but effectively a one-year deal with team options after that, and Christian just signed to a one-year deal, so.

and then Ricky, who, you know, I, I think there’s so much talent there, but the first two years have been at their best, really promising, and obviously a-availability, you know, due, due to injury and unfortunate circumstances have limited his time to- in total.

So wide receiver is good enough they could play a game tomorrow, but also something not to be ignored, because there’s still room for building blocks at that position on this roster.

Yeah, and the 49ers had their local pro day, which usually is, you know, all undrafted possibility, you know, guys, guys who are just fighting to get into a, an NFL camp.

This year, Sam Rauch was not there, the tight end from Stanford.

Um- but, you mentioned Jack Endries, tight end from- Yeah Texas by way of Cal, and then a, a few defensive backs.

Julian Neal- Yep who is a San Francisco Public Schools product, finished up at, at Arkansas.

After freshman year.

There’s Coli-Colin, yep, Colin Wright from Stanford and, Hezekiah Masses from Cal.

So I’ll just kinda toss it open.

W-of those names, kinda what sticks out, and are any of those guys a possibility in the fourth round for the 49ers?

Ooh, I’d say of the fourth round guys, Jack Endries.

Let’s, let’s put Sam Rauch I mean, we can mention Sam.

I think Sam is, like, right on the border of day two, early day three.

92 would’ve been, like, a reasonable landing spot for him if the Niners wanted to attack that, that reserve level tight end spot.

he’s not as athletic as George, but he’s a very athletic guy for a 270-pound tight end.

Yeah, he’s huge, isn’t he?

Huge.

played for Trent Dilfer back in Nashville as a high school player.

Trent thinks very highly of Sam.

He’s a good player, had a big catch, 67 yards against BC where he showed off the open field speed.

Jack Endries, zero drops this past year for Texas.

Again, they just didn’t really throw the ball that much.

Mm-hmm.

I wanna say it was 10 of his 35 catches came in the final two games of the season.

so he ha- he did turn it on.

He’s got a good catch radius, not, not just because he had zero drops, but, like, you can throw it kinda anywhere in his frame and he’ll make an athletic play to grab it.

I do think that both Masses and Wright are, like, later day three guys.

Wright probably more of a, of a nickel only just based off of size.

Mm-hmm.

Masses had this insane production.

He was, I think, number one in the FBS in pass breakups this past year.

He just was, every time you turned, it was pass PBU, PBU, PBU.

but he does, he’s, he’s just a leaner guy, smaller, leaner corner.

Julian Neal’s very intriguing to me.

ran 4.49 at the combine, had a solid year at Arkansas.

Just a really good guy to cover up against, a guy like a Mike Evans.

I have him sort of in that, in that three to four range.

When you’re doing these, these grades, sometimes I use half round grades once we get past kind of the first two rounds.

You know, like, is there a, is there a gigantic difference between the 88th and the 107th player on your board?

Not really, you know?

Some of it’s just personal preference or, or, or positional value.

So, I had Julian Neal in that, like, three and a half round range.

did I get everybody there?

I might’ve missed one person.

Uh- Hopefully I did.

Colin Wright?

Colin Wright, yeah, that, the, it’s later day three, along with Masses, maybe round six, six or seven.

you know, just the nickel only there for Wright, but had some, some good snaps, was there at the Senior Bowl, and got some good reps against top competition.

Okay, I’m gonna put you on the spot here.

Is there anybody I mean, you know the 49ers pretty well.

Yeah.

Was there anybody, like, through this draft process where you go, “Man, that guy…” It doesn’t matter what round.

Could be- first round or whatever round.

Was there anybody that kinda stood out to you like, “Holy cow, that guy would look really good in a 49ers uniform in their system”?

I’ll give you a name, and the, the trading away of pick 92 may have impacted this, but they have four fourth round picks, so it, it, there’s a way they could get him there.

the Niners have had success obviously with these highly athletic linebackers.

Fred’s the apex of that.

he’s an amazing, amazing player, Fred Warner is.

D-don’t, I, it’s so fun to watch him.

I, I get a little uneasy with some of the Sonny Stiles comparisons to Fred because- Mm-hmm I can’t think of a player, maybe Luke Kuechly over the past decade, that covered players as well as Fred does at the linebacker spot.

I just, I think that’s rare.

I think it’s unfair to a college prospect to compare him to S- to, to, to Fred Warner as a, as a, as a coverage player.

I just, I mean, I don’t need to tell it to you, but, that’s, that’s Hall of Fame level from Fred.

but Caleb Elarms-Orr, a linebacker from TCU, just ripped it at the combine, 4.47.

I think he was a 41-inch vertical, had five games with 10 plus tackles this past season, four sacks as well.

past few years have been productive, played a lot of ball there for TCU.

I just think of the Niners and, and, and these sort of quick trigger linebackers who, you can compromise, like, a little bit of, like, hammerhead for a little bit more speed.

and Caleb Elarms-Orr is a guy that I think invokes a Niner to me.

I love it.

That’s great.

Well, you know, Phil, I, I, as I mentioned, I was at the, the local pro day and it’s, it’s always fun to talk to these kids and, and, you know, s- the personalities and, and the excitement that they feel.

That, that was, I, I came away from the 49ers local pro day a-after talking to Jack Endries and Julian Neal and I was like, “Man, those, you know, I’ll be rooting for those guys.

See where they end up.”

Yeah.

But I also really love-The, the process that you’re a big part of, of all the opinions and, and the, the homework that you and so many others do in bringing the draft and making it a- an event to, you know, people like me, who I don’t follow college football- Yeah religiously.

You know, I’m kinda, I’m s- with the 49ers and all that stuff.

So I, I, I, I don’t know if you feel the same way as far as just all the opinions and all the, all the information out there.

but to me, this is almost as fun than the actual draft itself.

The process, yeah, there’s the old, I feel like it’s a clich, I think I got it on a fortune cookie somewhat recently, where it’s like, you know, what’s it like, jour- the journey is better than the destination, right?

Uh- Yeah ’cause I do, I, I love the process.

I’m with you.

It’s, it’s like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle.

the difference is that, like, w- what my pieces look like versus what your pieces look like are different, versus what anybody, Mel Kiper Jr.’s or John Lynch’s or whoever is actually doing the evaluation of these players.

And so much of it is beauty in the eye of the beholder.

I acknowledge that on, on our side, the media side, like, we’re playing with a lot less information than teams are.

I never take that for granted.

I don’t try to presume that I know more than teams.

And also, the job that we’re doing, or at least I guess in my spot, is I’m evaluating players for all 32 teams.

And what the Niners prioritize versus what the Eagles versus what the Saints versus what the Jets versus what the Cardinals versus what the Ravens value is a little bit different, right?

So there are probably guys where San Francisco says, “I don’t know, we just, you know, like, this is our type, this is our style, this is what val- what we value.”

there’s also considerations like we talked about, like, if you have four fourth round picks but no third, there’s some guy at the end of the second that you’re worried about not getting when your fir- when your first fourth round pick comes around.

you can’t guarantee you’re gonna get a trade up.

You can probably hedge your bets, but, you’re also playing the cards that you have been dealt, which is different for each team.

You know, Seattle’s got four picks this year.

Ravens have, or the Ni- or maybe it was the Steelers who have twe- 12, excuse me.

Yeah.

So the Steelers may be saying to themselves, “Yeah, you wanna tr- you, we don’t really wanna trade out of 21, because we don’t need more picks.”

Where Seattle may be saying, “Hey, the first offer we get, if it’s two for one or three for one, sign us up, let’s go, because we need more swings during this at bat.”

Mm-hmm.

I, I was reading a book recently, and w- this line stood out to me about, the, the line was, “Every job looks easy if you’re not the one doing the job.”

And, and that’s kinda how I view the, the NFL draft- Yeah where it’s so easy to sit back and go, “Why did they pick him?”

Yeah.

You’re like, “Well,” you know, like in the Or, you know, down the road, two years later, “Why couldn’t they have seen that that guy would…” You, you know, it’s sometimes the information that the teams get end up working against them- Totally as opposed to just being able to s- you know, see the, the, the, the film cutups and, and watch the guy and, all the information that goes into it is, is just, it, it’s an amazing jigsaw puzzle, as you mentioned.

Yeah.

I think the draft, there’s a chance that we would have fewer, I’m using air quotes here, “busts” if we just did the draft the week after the college football playoffs were concluded.

Right?

Because think about some of the things that any of us have heard over the past two months.

Yeah.

It’s, it’s like, you know, we have this, hey, Fernando Mendoza is clearly quarterback one, and then it starts to, you know, reduce back down the gap between him and Ty Simpson.

Now it’s kind of like, it’s like an accordion, and it’s, you know, like, if we just did it right after the draft, I, I hate to, this is unfair to the player, but, like, Anthony Richardson a few years ago- Yeah at the end of that Florida football season, I don’t think Florida fans would have said he was anything close to a first-round pick, and he goes fourth overall.

Right.

So, sometimes this process, there’s a lot of benefits.

There’s a lot of information you’re gathering.

It also invites a lot of overthinking.

Yeah.

Hey, Field, thank you so much.

You, you were so generous with your time, and it’s always great to catch up with you.

And you know, I, I haven’t seen you in now in a while, but, I guess I’ll see you at the next family reunion.

So thanks so much.

Yeah.

And, and enjoy the, the final couple weeks here leading up to the 2026 NFL draft.

From the conversation, the time you and I have in this conversation, it’s only 13 days, but who’s counting?

The answer is very much me.

Assessing 49ers’ 2026 NFL Draft needs with Field Yates

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