The San Francisco 49ers spent Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft plugging holes on their roster and Day 3 shopping for size and upside.

Their first two picks on Saturday were trench players, Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton and Washington offensive lineman Carver Willis. Halton, one of the fastest players at his position, figures to be part of the interior defensive line rotation this season, while coach Kyle Shanahan said Willis would have a chance to compete for the starting left guard spot.

One of their most intriguing picks came in the fifth round in linebacker Jaden Dugger. Though he began his college career as a safety, he’s one of the tallest (6 foot 4) and longest (35-inch arms) linebackers in this year’s draft class. He seems like someone who could handle the tight end matchups that flummoxed the 49ers last season. The fit between him and linebackers coach K.J. Wright — an ex-linebacker with similar height, weight and length — appears to be a good one.

Shanahan said the goal is always to have every draft pick make the team, something he said would be difficult after the 49ers addressed a lot of their needs in free agency.

“I think it’s going to be a challenge for all eight of these guys to make the team,” he said. “I think there’s a chance for a couple of guys possibly to start.”

Best value pick

Hmm. Not a lot of options here. It’s either Romello Height or Gracen Holten, as everybody else was a little bit of a reach. Give me Halton, who might be a little undersized at 6-3, 293 pounds, but is athletic and was able to get off blocks against some pretty good competition at Oklahoma. He ran a 4.83 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, and the explosiveness shows up on film. He rounds out a pretty formidable foursome inside for the 49ers.

“We were surprised he was still there, and we pounced on him,” general manager John Lynch said. “He’s an explosive player.” — Tafur

Most surprising pick

Indiana running back Kaelon Black seems solid. He’s fast, fits a zone-running scheme and is good in pass protection. Running back, however, wasn’t a screaming need, and the 49ers have a conspicuously sketchy history when it comes to mid-round running backs.

In fact, their late-round or undrafted picks at the position have invariably outperformed their earlier picks. In 2017, they drafted Joe Williams in the fourth round, but undrafted Matt Breida was significantly better. In 2021, third-rounder Trey Sermon was outplayed by sixth-rounder Elijah Mitchell. The following season, third-rounder Tyrion Davis-Price lost his roster spot because undrafted Jordan Mason was more productive.

If Black excels this offseason, he might dislodge another mid-round pick, 2024 fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo. — Barrows

Biggest question mark

We get that De’Zhaun Stribling has the speed and the run-blocking toughness that the 49ers covet. But No. 33 seemed high, especially when the 49ers could have taken Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. after trading down the first time from No. 27 to No. 30. Cooper seemed like a great fit, but maybe the 49ers deemed Stribling had more upside, and he’ll be able to learn under Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall and Christian Kirk this season. Stribling was popular at Ole Miss, but even sources there mention that he was prone to disappearing, as he had less than 35 yards receiving in six games. — Tafur

Remaining needs

The 49ers entered the draft with needs at edge rusher, receiver, guard and tackle and addressed all four of them. However, they waited until their last pick, No. 179 in the fifth round, to take a tackle, Enrique Cruz Jr. from Kansas. Cruz has some intriguing characteristics, including long arms and impressive foot speed. But it remains to be seen if he’s the heir apparent to Trent Williams, something fans have been waiting on for several seasons.

Safety, meanwhile, is the most prominent spot that wasn’t addressed. Though Malik Mustapha and Ji’Ayir Brown struggled during stretches of the 2025 season, the 49ers will begin the offseason with them in the top two spots. — Barrows

Post-draft outlook

Well, apparently the 49ers were higher on safeties Brown, Mustapha and Marques Sigle than we thought, as they looked away when they had chances to add to that competition this weekend.

Lynch had said the 49ers didn’t have a lot of needs coming into the draft, and they did add an edge rusher, a defensive tackle and a guard. He is looking at some serious contributions from last year’s draft class, a lot more than this one. The 49ers have a lot of veterans looking to make one more run at a Super Bowl, and they didn’t really add any impact newcomers with their eight picks. — Tafur