Feb. 9, 2026, 8:15 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
Now that the 2025 season has ended with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> hoisting a Lombardi Trophy after beating the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl 60, it’s time to turn our attention to the offseason.<\/p>\n For the San Francisco 49ers<\/a>, they’ve already made a few coaching changes, and they’ll likely make more before addressing their roster in the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n At this point, the 49ers<\/a> are set to enter the 2026 NFL draft with pick No. 27 in the first round, and while that could change with a trade, many are already predicting what the team will do.<\/p>\n After the Super Bowl, Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy released a new 2026 mock draft<\/a>, and he projected that San Francisco will take Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling in the first round.<\/p>\n “Freeling is a fast riser thanks to some exceptional film and he might be a day one starter on the right team at right tackle,” Popejoy wrote.<\/p>\n Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n Freeling, 21, was a four-star recruit at Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant South Carolina before committing to Georgia in late-2022. He spent most of his first two seasons as a backup, but an injury forced him to start the final four games of the 2024 season at left tackle, which he continued to do through the 2025 season.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-7, 315-pound tackle earned Second-team All-SEC honors this past year, while Pro Football Focus<\/a> gave him a a 71.2 overall grade (80th out of 629 offensive tackles) and an 85.1 pass-blocking grade (11th).<\/p>\n Left tackle Trent Williams has one more year left on his contract, and right tackle Colton McKivitz just signed a three-year extension that ties him to the team through 2028. With that said, San Francisco would have to be willing to sit their first-round pick for a full year, if they want a tackle.<\/p>\n Taking Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis, who is mocked to the Houston Texans<\/a> with the next pick, might make more sense.<\/p>\n