{"id":868850,"date":"2026-04-18T02:37:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T02:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/868850\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T02:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T02:37:40","slug":"two-position-groups-the-49ers-dont-need-to-target-in-the-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/868850\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Position Groups the 49ers Don\u2019t Need to Target in the Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6l\">The San Francisco 49ers made several notable moves in free agency, strengthening key parts of the roster on both sides of the ball.  <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6o\">The shopping list was extensive, and the 49ers have addressed a large portion of their needs. The front office added two wide receivers in Mike Evans and Christian Kirk, re-signed kicker Eddy Pi\u00f1eiro and tight end Jake Tonges, brought back Luke Gifford, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/49ers\/onsi\/news\/how-dre-greenlaw-can-be-49ers-best-free-agent-signing\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reunited with Dre Greenlaw<\/a> after a year away. They also added several depth pieces along the offensive line, but no major names were added. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">With the draft quickly approaching, the 49ers should continue to address both the offensive and defensive lines to bolster protection for Brock Purdy and further improve the pass rush, an area that has only been marginally strengthened following the signing of Osa Odighizuwa in exchange for a third round pick. <\/p>\n<p>The 49ers don&#8217;t need to add a quarterback <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kpdah9neh2f0rgm2z5.jpg\" alt=\"Broc\" title=\"Broc\" width=\"5254\" height=\"2955\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"74\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jan 11, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) passes the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">One of the key talking points surrounding potential departures from the 49ers was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/49ers\/onsi\/news\/dont-forget-mac-jones-previously-said-about-his-49ers-future\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">quarterback Mac Jones<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">His stock was at its highest after filling in for Brock Purdy for part of the regular season, yet no team came forward with an offer involving a high draft pick. With the NFL Draft approaching, selecting a quarterback would be a waste of a pick, particularly given the lack of trade interest in Jones.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7e\">Purdy is firmly established as the starter, while Jones provides reliable depth heading into the second year of his contract. As a result, investing in another quarterback would offer little immediate value. Building around the current roster gives the San Francisco 49ers a stronger chance to remain competitive in a loaded NFC.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers also don&#8217;t need to draft a linebacker <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kpdajwma1whp1hk954.jpg\" alt=\"Fred Warne\" title=\"Fred Warne\" width=\"5361\" height=\"3015\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7r\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; NBC Sports analyst Fred Warner prior to the New England Patriots game against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi&#8217;s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7v\">The front office doesn\u2019t need to target a linebacker either. While the 49ers used several linebackers last season due to injuries, that can largely be viewed as a one-off situation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7y\">They already have plenty of depth at the position, with nine linebackers currently on the roster, including a fully healthy Fred Warner in time for the new season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"81\">Although it would be expected that Gifford and Garret Wallow will primarily contribute on special teams, there is still no real need to draft a linebacker.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"84\">Using a draft pick here would overlook more urgent needs. The 49ers are in a position to invest their first-round pick in the offensive line or at defensive end, both areas where the franchise desperately needs further support. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Francisco 49ers made several notable moves in free agency, strengthening key parts of the roster on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,6,1161,252,2624,2623],"class_list":{"0":"post-868850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-san-francisco","12":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","13":"tag-sanfrancisco","14":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116423393264039640","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}