On Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers did something they hadn’t done for 25 years: burn their first four picks on defense.
Defensive End Mykel Williams (First Round, 11 overall)
Defensive Tackle Alfred Collins (Second Round, 43 overall)
Linebacker Nick Martin (Third Round, 75 overall)
Cornerback Upton Stout (Third Round, 100 overall)
History wasn’t done repeating for this draft. On Day 3, they went further back when they used their fifth pick on another defensive player. They hadn’t done that since 1981.
Defensive Tackle CJ West (Fourth Round, 113 Overall)
Many of you know what happened with the 1981 49ers. The 1980 49ers were at the bottom of the league in several categories (second-worst in yards allowed; it was ugly).
The offense wasn’t awful (13th overall), but the defense just kept losing those games. The late Dwight Clark said it best in the 1981 49ers episode of “America’s Game”.
“I guess at some point, Bill Walsh just said, “I’ve had enough.” And he decided he was gong to get his secondary all at once. In the first round he took Ronnie Lott, in the second round he took Eric Wright. And in the third round he took Carlton Williamson.”
Here’s the entire list to round things out. Back then, the draft was 12 rounds. If you didn’t think today’s seven-round events were long enough:
Round 1, Pick 8 — Ronnie Lott, DB, USC
Round 2, Pick 36 — John Harty, G, Iowa
Round 2, Pick 40 — Eric Wright, DB, Missouri
Round 3, Pick 65 — Carlton Williamson, DB, Pittsburgh
Round 5, Pick 121 — Lynn Thomas, DB, Pittsburgh
Round 6, Pick 122 — Arrington Jones, RB, Winston-Salem State
Round 7, Pick 147 — Pete Kugler, NT, Penn State
Round 8, Pick 203 — Garry White, RB, Minnesota
Round 11, Pick 286 — Ronnie DeBose, TE, UCLA
Round 12, Pick 313 — Major Ogilvie, RB, Alabama
Round 12, Pick 322 — Joe Adams, QB, Tennessee State
Needless to say, defensive backs coach George Seifert was pretty happy with those new toys. Along with other moves, like grabbing Jack Reynolds in free agency, you know the end result of that season: a Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
So with the similarities between two, could a recreation of the 1981 team’s success?
“You can always dream,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said during the 49ers’ post-draft press conference Saturday. “That’d be awesome. I used to hear about that at Stanford with Coach Walsh, used to talk about that a lot. That draft was very good to this organization then and we can only pray that this one is as good.”
While the 49ers’ offense, namely the offensive line, might leave some still asking questions, the defense was a massive reload. An empire of players for the new defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh. Now they all need to work out.