What to KnowThe 49ers\u2019 top three scouts described the team’s draft process and spoke about what attracted the team to each of their eight draft picks.Vice President of Player Personnel Tariq Ahmad said WR De\u2019Zhaun Stribling “checked all those boxes.”Josh Williams, the 49ers\u2019 director of scouting and football operations, said\u00a0fourth-round selection CB Ephesians Prysock is “a tough competitor.”<\/p>\n
The 49ers\u2019 top three scouts emerged from the darkness of the team\u2019s draft room in the minutes after the 257th and last selection was announced.<\/p>\n
They described the 49ers\u2019 draft process and spoke about what attracted the team to each of their eight draft picks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe assess it based on our board and our standards,\u201d said Josh Williams, the 49ers\u2019 director of scouting and football operations. \u201cSo we don\u2019t really care as much about what the mocks say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams, vice president of player personnel Tariq Ahmad and assistant general manager RJ Gillen provided a recap of the team\u2019s activities at the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
Here is how they broke down each of the 49ers\u2019 eight selections:<\/p>\n
WR De\u2019Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss<\/p>\n
Chosen with the first pick of the second round<\/a> (No. 33 overall), Stribling was the sixth wide receiver picked in the draft. His well-rounded game<\/a> included 55 catches for 811 yards and six touchdowns in his final season. In his three games in the college football playoff (against Tulane, Georgia and Miami), he caught 17 passes for 278 yards. The 49ers assigned a “gold helmet” distinction to just 16 players in the draft, and Stribling was one of them.<\/p>\n Ahmad:\u00a0\u201cGold helmet is everything. And he checked all those boxes. He\u2019s kind of a unique guy. When he transferred in, I\u2019m not certain that Ole Miss knew the quality and caliber of person and player they had early on. Our scouts loved him right away. Our coach loved him right away. Leadership. Goal-oriented. The passion the guy has, the work ethic, the toughness, the durability. He checks all those boxes at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n Gillen:\u00a0\u201cThe more people we talked to, the more his name came up as the guy who set the standard and held people accountable and raised the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams:\u00a0\u201cThe cool thing about ‘Strib’ is all the traits we talk about, they show up on tape. The way he blocks. The way he catches the ball. How unselfish of a teammate he is. All the factors that make you a gold helmet, they have to show up on tape, and they do with him.\u201d<\/p>\n DE Romello Height, Texas Tech<\/p>\n Height became the 14th edge rusher selected when the 49ers grabbed him in the third round with the 70th pick<\/a>. He was first-team All-Big 12<\/a> after registering 9.5 sacks.<\/p>\n Ahmad:\u00a0\u201cWe had him on the board before (defensive coordinator) Raheem (Morris) got here. He\u2019s someone we identified as being one of the premier pass rushers in this class.\u201d<\/p>\n Gillen:\u00a0\u201cIt is a player archetype we\u2019ve used in the past, like with Dee Ford. The DPR (designated pass rusher) kind of guys. It\u2019s not something we\u2019re unfamiliar with.\u201d<\/p>\n RB Kaelon Black, Indiana<\/p>\n Black was the third running back selected<\/a> in the draft. The 49ers picked him in the third round at No. 90 overall.<\/a> He rushed for 1,039 yards and 10 touchdowns for the national champions. Although he caught just eight passes for 42 yards the past two seasons, previously he had 44 receptions for 431 yards and six touchdowns over two seasons at James Madison.<\/p>\n Gillen:\u00a0\u201cWe were very surprised he wasn\u2019t invited to the combine. Since watching his film early in the fall, we thought he was a really good running back, a really good player. It\u2019s not always about what the player is asked to do, it\u2019s what he\u00a0can\u00a0do. Throughout the process, we became more and more comfortable with his pass-game ability.\u201d<\/p>\n DT Gracen Halton, Oklahoma<\/p>\n The 49ers selected Halton in the fourth round at No. 107<\/a> overall. He moved from defensive end to defensive tackle<\/a> during his college career. A team captain, he had five sacks in 2024 and 3.5 in 2025.<\/p>\n Ahmad:\u00a0\u201c(He\u2019s) very, very effective at attacking and getting on edges. Has three-down value, rushing the passer. One of the big things, based on size, how does he hold up against double-teams? And we were really happy with his anchor and his overall power.\u201d<\/p>\n Gillen:\u00a0\u201cEverybody has their own developmental timeline, but we saw him really improve throughout the season and make an impact on that defense. Down at the Senior Bowl, as well. We thought he had a great week.\u201d<\/p>\n G Carver Willis, Washington<\/p>\n The 49ers selected Willis in the fourth round at No. 127<\/a> overall. Another team captain, Willis is slated to compete for the starting job at left guard.<\/a><\/p>\n Gillen:\u00a0\u201cHe was a fun study. He played tackle in college and has tackle ability, but we see him more on the inside. And with the scheme at Washington, we really got to see him do a lot of what we\u2019re going to ask him to do, in terms of the run game, running off the ball, outside zone. And with his pass pro ability at tackle, sliding inside, we think he can really be beneficial there. So both run and pass, he checked the boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n CB Ephesians Prysock, Washington<\/p>\n Prysock (6-foot-3, 196 pounds) started 42 games in his college career, which began at Arizona and ended up at Washington<\/a>. He will be competing for a prime backup role behind Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green. He comes to the 49ers as a fourth-round selection at No. 139 overall.<\/a><\/p>\n Williams:\u00a0\u201cPrysock is awesome because he\u2019s got such size and length. And for a bigger guy, he moves like a guy who\u2019s smaller. He\u2019s a tough competitor. He fits us. He\u2019s going to play on the outside, and he\u2019s going to compete. We like him.\u201d<\/p>\n LB Jaden Dugger, Louisiana-Lafayette<\/p>\n Dugger is an intriguing prospect<\/a> who played a lot of different positions in college, checks in at 6-5, 242 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.60 seconds.<\/p>\n Ahmad:\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s really cool because if you go back two years at Georgetown, he\u2019s playing safety. Last year at Lafayette, he\u2019s essentially playing outside linebacker, setting edges. And this year he was playing stack \u2018backer. He\u2019s a tremendous athlete. We see him as a linebacker. We don\u2019t see him as an on-the-ball outside linebacker. But he\u2019s a really talented, gifted, versatile athlete. And as you can tell by his measurements, he\u2019s one of the more physically gifted people.\u201d<\/p>\n T Enrique Cruz, Kansas<\/p>\n General manager John Lynch made a total of five trades over the three days of the draft, and the 49ers turned a scheduled six draft picks into eight selections<\/a>. Cruz (6-5, 313) has the athleticism the 49ers require from their offensive linemen. He ran a time of 4.94 seconds in the 40.<\/a> The 49ers saw enough to make them believe he can develop into a big contributor down the road.<\/p>\n Gillen:\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of traits in his body. He\u2019s got really good size, really good testing numbers and we really like the film. He played some good rushers this year and held his own. Being able to add some extra picks and being able to add him, we\u2019re really excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n