The San Francisco 49ers traded for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, which arguably crosses off their biggest need. While the team adding Mike Evans in free agency may not have impacted the 49ers draft plans in Round 1, the trade for Odighizuwa likely ended any discussion about the team taking a defensive tackle early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
San Francisco 49ers draft plans change significantly with trade for Osa Odighizuwa
With Evans, he is going to be 33 years old, he is coming off of an injury, and the team needs three wide receivers. They have Ricky Pearsall and Evans, but there is a legitimate need whether Evans pays off over the next three years or not. They do have to replace Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings and cannot do that with just Evans.
On the flip side, the 49ers needed one impact player along their front. Alfred Collins has started to ascend into a starter, and CJ West looks like fine depth. However, both Jordan Elliott and Kalia Davis were going to leave in free agency and both were non-impact players.
San Francisco 49er
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So, in adding Odighizuwa, they have the legitimate starter and impact player from their defensive front. You can argue that he will be even better next to a big run defender like Collins. Odighizuwa is 27 years old, and Collins is 24. Both are at an age where they should be able to take on a full workload.
While they need to players to replace the ones that they lost, Odighizuwa legitimately matches the production of those two. Davis and Elliott combined for 0.5 sacks and 30 pressures. Odighizuwa had 3.5 sacks and 52 pressures, per PFF. They do not need the rotation nearly as much.
With expectations that Collins will be better with better support and the thought that West will remain in a depth role, the team legitimately just needs one interior rusher.
When you factor in that Mykel Williams will slide inside next to Odighizuwa for pass rush help while West and Collins specialize against the run, the reality is that this can be a late pick or even a veteran free agent with a specific role in mind.
The 49ers went from a first-round defensive tackle being a must to potentially passing on the position altogether in the 2026 NFL Draft. That is why this trade has to be viewed as a win for the 49ers.