Maybe 49ers shouldn't worry about filling position needs in NFL draft

The San Francisco 49ers have a list of boxes they'll need to check when making their selections in the 2026 NFL draft.

While their list of needs is clearly topped by the defensive end and wide receiver positions, there's a larger need that stands out that pushes the typical positional assignments into the background. The 49ers above all else need to find stars, regardless of what position they play.

San Francisco's Super Bowl window has been propped open by players like George Kittle, Fred Warner, Kyle Juszczyk and Nick Bosa. It received additional support with the addition of Trent Williams in 2020, and again in 2022 when the club traded for Christian McCaffrey. As Father Time starts to descend on that core group of players, San Francisco has yet to bring in adequate star-caliber talent that can prop open a new Super Bowl window when the current core ages out.

Brock Purdy is the 49ers' franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future, but the rapid decline of the team's relationship with Brandon Aiyuk and his impending exit, uncertainty around Mykel Williams following an ACL tear in his rookie season, Ricky Pearsall's injury woes and a rash of other question marks leave the club's ability to contend for future Super Bowls in doubt.

Surrounding Purdy with top-level talent is the best way to compete for a championship. San Francisco has undoubtedly added a handful of contributors over the last couple of years. That matters, but stars win titles. The definition of a 'star' may differ from person to person, but for our purposes we'll look at Pro Bowls and All-Pro nods.

In the three drafts between 2017 and 2019 the 49ers selected four players — Kittle, Warner, Bosa and Deebo Samuel — who made at least one Pro Bowl and one All-Pro team. That core interspersed with key contributors from those drafts built the foundation the 49ers' Super Bowl window leaned on.

San Francisco has had a hard time landing star players since then. Between 2020 and 2025 the 49ers selected two players — Purdy and Talanoa Hufanga — who earned Pro Bowl nods. Hufanga is the only player in that time to make an All-Pro team, which he did in 2022. The 49ers let him walk in free agency three years later.

There's an immediate necessity for the 49ers at DE and WR, to be sure. There's a significant need brewing at both offensive tackle spots as well. If the team is simply trying to maximize the roster around the current, aging core, then grabbing a player who fills a positional need should be the priority.

On the other hand, if the 49ers are focused at some level on building out their future roster, they may want to put positions aside in lieu of a quest to replenish the star power on their roster. Doing so may not be best in the short term, but it could pay big dividends down the road.

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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 2026 NFL draft: 49ers may want to skip needs for sake of future roster