The San Francisco 49ers returned to the first round of the draft in 2024 after a two-year absence. This year's draft class showed promise, with significant developments surrounding key players like Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
Key points
49ers returned to the first round of the draft in 2024
Draft class showed promise with some injury concerns
Brandon Aiyuk's contract extension was a major offseason storyline
Deebo Samuel faced trade rumors during the offseason
San Francisco 49ers
It’s time to reflect on theSan Francisco 49ers’previous drafts again. Thanks to YouTube poster and49ersfanMarvin49, we have videos of each draft. We’ll lookat every year during the Kyle Shanahan era up to 2025.Today, it’s 2024.
One year after a class defined by a kicker and a punt bouncing off someone’s heel, the 49ers were back in the first round for the first time since 2021. The expectations were different. The stakes were different. And for the most part, the results were different, too.
In their second year on the roster, this was a class that came in with real promise and largely delivered — with a few asterisks, a couple of injury footnotes, and one player who quietly went from afterthought to essential before the season was over.
The drama started before the draft even happened. For starters, the offseason storyline for this was Brandon Aiyuk and his will-he-or-won’t-he contract extension. Exhausting doesn’t begin to describe how that was progressing. Then there’s the other wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, and the whispers of a trade.
With that in mind, we take you to the 31st selection, the 49ers took Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
The reaction in 2024 when this was announced was… “mixed.” Within hours, it was clear there was no Aiyuk trade coming, which made the pick feel strange in the moment. Then Pearsall during a failed robbery attempt in late August. He returned to play the in Week 7 and won over most of the skeptics before December.
Q&A
What were the key highlights of the 49ers' 2024 draft class?
The 2024 draft class for the 49ers showed promise, with several players delivering strong performances despite some injuries and unexpected developments.
Why was the 2024 draft significant for the San Francisco 49ers?
The 2024 draft was significant as it marked the 49ers' return to the first round for the first time since 2021, raising expectations and stakes for the team.
What was the situation with Brandon Aiyuk's contract during the 2024 offseason?
Brandon Aiyuk's contract extension negotiations were a major offseason storyline, characterized by uncertainty and ongoing discussions.
What trade rumors surrounded Deebo Samuel in 2024?
In 2024, there were whispers of a trade involving Deebo Samuel, which he acknowledged during the offseason, adding to the drama surrounding the team.
Related Articles
Sports
What Spalletti told Juventus’ Italian players after World Cup flop
What Spalletti told Juventus players after their World Cup disappointment
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
Arman Tsarukyan offers Ryan Garcia $1M for MMA spar after bet dispute
Arman Tsarukyan challenges Ryan Garcia to a $1M MMA spar!
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
Former Lady Longhorn Jordan Lee joins SEC rival South Carolina
Former Texas guard Jordan Lee joins SEC rival South Carolina
Now, in 2026, the reaction to the pick is a very, very different story. We all know about the current Brandon Aiyuk brew-ha-ha that will lead to his eventual release from the team, whenever the 49ers get around to it. Injured or not, that pick softens the blow of the 49ers losing Aiyuk.
Of course, that’s also a problem: keeping Pearsall on the field. Nine games as a rookie, due to getting shot in the chest before the season began, and nine games in year two due to a PCL injury. Regardless of bad luck, his third year is crucial to answering the question of his durability.
In the second round, the 49ers took Florida State cornerback Renardo Green. Green showed a lot of potential in 2024. In 2025, he started every game, and finished with 60 tackles and 10 pass deflections. What he didn’t have in 2025 was an interception. In fact, he has only one interception in two years, a game-sealing one in his rookie season against the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaking of the Seahawks, while he put the 2024 game in Seattle away, the NFC Divisional in Seattle was a different story. In this unfortunate series of events, the 49ers sacked Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold to force a second-and-20. On said second and long, Green got beaten by Cooper Kupp for a first down, and was promptly yanked off the field for a chewing via 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan that the cameras caught. Shanahan says it was coaching, you might think it’s entering the doghouse. Green returned to the game shortly thereafter, but that was after Darrell Luter allowed a touchdown.
The third round brings us Kansas offensive lineman Dominick Puni. In 2024, he was seen as a steal of a pick and someone who could be one of the better guards in the league. A year later, he played only 99.7 percent of offensive snaps all season and didn’t miss a snap in the playoffs. So he had durability, but his sophomore season raised some concerns — his pass-blocking grade in 2025 was 65.8, and while his penalties went from seven to four, three of those were holding calls. While he’s in no way a one-hit wonder, we can hope he gets the pass-protection side of things fixed.
The fourth round begins by giving us Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha. Mustapha showed a lot of promise in 2024, but as the season wound down, it was reported that he had torn his ACL—the same one he tore in college. He missed the first five weeks of 2025, and still finished with 76 tackles. Shanahan called his rehab the hardest work he’d seen from any player. The tools are clearly there. Staying healthy enough to use them is the only question.
Still in the fourth round, the 49ers took Louisville running back Isaac Guerendo. Guerendo showed some speed, thanks largely to Christian McCaffrey and others getting hit with the injury bug in 2024. In 2025, McCaffrey came back healthy, and Guerendo handled a handful of kickoff returns.
If you’re wondering why all this happened, just go to Kyle Shanahan’s answer at the NFL annual meeting: “He just wasn’t our second-best runner last year.” Knowing the 49ers, another running back will get picked in the draft as per tradition, and Guerendo is on the wrong side of time at this point in his career.
The final fourth round pick is Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing. Cowing had four receptions in 2024 for 80 yards, and his 2025 campaign ended with nothing of either since he was placed on injured reserve in the preseason.
The 49ers missed out on the fifth round but got back into things in the sixth with USC guard Jarrett Kingston. This guy never played a snap for the 49ers — he was waived before the 2024 season, claimed by the Carolina Panthers, and ended up with the Houston Texans.
Now we get to the seventh round. Another pick, you probably say, “heh, good luck making the team.” That pick was Florida State linebacker Tatum Bethune. In 2024, that was the case, as he started just one game and was on the depth chart for the linebackers. Well, in 2025, Fred Warner fractured and dislocated his ankle in Week 7, and Bethune finished second on the team with 94 tackles. Unfortunately, Bethune missed the playoffs after being placed on injured reserve himself in January. With Warner and Greenlaw both back for 2026, he’s still depth, but he’s depth relative to former 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. As in, he could play his way into a starting job elsewhere one day. Then again, Dre Greenlaw isn’t getting any younger, so maybe that might be his starting job. Regardless, the 49ers have little reason to draft a linebacker in 2026, unless they are preparing to lose either Bethune or Dee Winters.
Two years in, this class has starters and unfinished business in equal measure. Pearsall needs a healthy season, Green needs a bounce-back year, and Puni needs his pass blocking to develop. Growing pains happen. Let’s see what they do in Year three.