Why 49ers left Mel Kiper Jr. utterly ‘confused’ by 2026 NFL Draft haul

The San Francisco 49ers may be one of the biggest losers following the 2026 NFL Draft. San Francisco traded out of the first round and made some puzzling selections during the remaining rounds. One NFL insider questioned San Francisco’s moves when reflecting on the team’s overall draft haul.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. assigned draft grades for every team in an article published on Sunday. Kiper put the 49ers at the bottom of his list with a “C” grade.

“The 49ers traded out of Day 1, and I wrote about their Day 2 on Friday night. There were some really confusing picks in this class. I like De’Zhaun Stribling, Kaelon Black and some others, but it seemed like general manager John Lynch went off the board to get the guys he wanted, often way ahead of where they were valued,” Kiper wrote.

The Vikings and Jaguars were the only other teams to receive “C’ grades on Kiper’s list.

One reason why Kiper hated San Francisco’s draft was the value they got with each pick. He even explained which players the 49ers could have drafted instead at the same spots.

“Stribing was No. 73 on my board, Height was No. 107 and Black was way outside my top 150. Instead of Stribling, San Francisco could have gotten Denzel Boston,” Kiper argued. “Instead of Height, it could have gotten someone like Jaishawn Barham. There were nine RBs available ahead of Black, including some guys with elite speed (Mike Washington Jr.), great hands (Emmett Johnson) and home-run ability (Kaytron Allen).”

Lynch was not afraid to go against the consensus board throughout the draft.

Hopefully San Francisco does not come to regret their choices during a crucial 2026 campaign later this fall.

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