49ers cover 2 roster holes with controversial pick in 2025 re-draft

A year ago, the San Francisco 49ers had the No. 11 overall pick after an awful 6-11 season. The team took edge rusher Mykell Williams with the selection, who recorded just one sack and three quarterback hits in just nine games before he sustained an ACL injury.

Now, injuries are impossible to predict, but the 49ers might have taken someone else at that selection if they had a do-over. The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner went through that idea with all 32 first-round picks from the 2025 draft, and the 49ers landed on one of the most controversial prospects of the class: Wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter.

Why? Well, Hunter has been in the news lately after reports surfaced that the Jacksonville Jaguars will play him mostly at cornerback in 2026. Hunter denied the report, but it still made its way around the news cycle following a disappointing rookie year that concluded with a season-ending knee injury after just six games.

With that information in mind, Hunter falls from No. 2 to the Jaguars in reality to No. 11 in this hindsight scenario. The 49ers would gladly add the versatile weapon to their arsenal, though it's unclear if Kyle Shanahan would have played him more on offense or defense as a rookie.

We'll never know for sure, but Hunter himself has already had an interesting start to his career — and not in a good way.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 2025 re-draft: Travis Hunter lands with San Francisco 49ers