C
San Francisco 49ers
The jury is out on the 49ers. For now, C.
by Iowradar ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 7 reaches
The 49ers did not so much draft Jeff Caldwell as overpay for him, 50 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend.
Thieneman falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. That running back hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Nearly every premium pick went to that side of the ball.
If Joshua Josephs and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 27 they get a bendy edge with upside, though they paid up to get him.
They barely believed it either: Dillon Thieneman still on the board at the 58th overall pick. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They jumped the gun on Kaleb Proctor, taking him earlier than his grade liked. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached a country mile for Matt Gulbin at the Round 4 slot, and the board is aghast. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jeff Caldwell. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Charles Demmings at pick No. 147 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor itch, scratched.
They went early on Dallen Bentley in the 187th pick, and the value did not follow. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid a round early for Kaden Wetjen in the Round 6 slot, more than the board wanted. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A wild overpay on Eli Heidenreich in slot 223, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.