The 2025 San Francisco 49ers are paying for mistakes made in the NFL Draft from 2021 through 2023.
OK, so every team has its share of draft whiffs. The Niners aren't immune to this, and it's fair to question if they are any worse than the other 31 squads when it comes to finding talent. After all, San Francisco used the final pick of the 2022 on a prospect who turned into a franchise cornerstone, quarterback Brock Purdy. And he's just one example of plenty of late-round gems discovered and developed by general manager John Lynch and his staff.
While there's no singular way to quantify draft success and failures, a recent statistic from Sportradar.com (h/t Josh Dubow of the Associated Press) sheds a lot of insight on the level of success, or arguably failure, the 49ers have had with recent draft classes:
Here are the teams with lowest percentage of draft picks from 2021-24 still on their roster or injured lists per @sportradar:
Vikings 32.4%
Patriots 36.8%
Titans 40%
Commanders 41.2%
Raiders 46.7%
49ers 47.1%
Panthers 48.3%
Bears 48.5%
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) August 28, 2025
Of that list, the Niners are the only squad not to have gone through a regime change during that 2021-2024 timeframe, and it can be excusable for a new front office to completely gut a roster, not unlike what the tandem of Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan did when they first took over duties in 2017.
But, that was years ago. So, it's not exactly an endorsement for San Francisco to have turned over close to 50 percent of its draftees between 2021 and 2024.
Are 49ers truly bad at finding talent in the NFL Draft?
This isn't a perfect data point when it comes to determining whether or not teams like the 49ers draft well.
Sure, the Niners' aggressive trade-up in 2021 to land now-Los Angeles Chargers backup quarterback Trey Lance ended up being one of the biggest draft whiffs in franchise history. Not only did Lance flame out not three seasons into his San Francisco tenure, but the deal also cost Lynch and Co. future first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, further hindering the ability to find top-end prospects.
At the same time, though, the 49ers identified cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and safety Talanoa Hufanga in that year's class, and the latter secured a first-team All-Pro nod in year two before cashing in on a lucrative free-agent deal with the Denver Broncos when he first became eligible. Left guard Aaron Banks (Round 2), too, played out the full length of his rookie contract before inking a hefty free-agent deal with the Green Bay Packers earlier last offseason.
It's hard to fault the front office for letting quality players land significant contracts on the open market when they weren't necessarily viewed as re-sign priorities.
Lenoir, meanwhile, is locked in as the Niners' No. 1 defensive back entering 2025.
Oh, but running back Trey Sermon (Round 3) flamed out in a bad way. Let's not forget him.
2022 and 2023's classes weren't particularly good, either. Yes, Purdy pretty much salvaged the 2022 class from being a total disaster. But, when the headline pickup from that year was defensive end Drake Jackson (Round 2), who couldn't even finish out his rookie contract amid injuries and poor conditioning, it's not a good look.
Related story:Waiving Drake Jackson is yet another indictment against 49ers' 2022 draft class
Running back Tyrion Davis-Price (Round 3) was brought in after Sermon couldn't cut it, but one could argue the former was even less impressive than the player he was intending to replace.
Speaking of 2023, a year in which San Francisco lacked both first- and second-round picks, fans assuredly grumble knowing kicker Jake Moody (Round 3) was the second player the 49ers selected after taking safety Ji'Ayir Brown in the same round. Brown has tumbled down the depth chart since, but even he can claim a better fate than tight end Cameron Latu, who was another third-round pick but never even appeared in a regular-season game.
Of that mere two-year-old draft class, only Latu, tight end Brayden Willis and wide receiver Ronnie Bell have seen their Niners tenures end, yet arguably only linebacker Dee Winters salvaged what is otherwise shaping up to be a disaster of a draft class.
Fortunately, the 2024 class has been promising, now boasting starting-caliber second-year pros in wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (Round 1), cornerback Renardo Green (Round 2), right guard Dominick Puni (Round 3) and safety Malik Mustapha (Round 4). Of that class, only offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston (Round 6) failed to hang onto a roster spot.
One can hope 2025 produces similar results. If so, that aforementioned stat may end up looking much, much better in the not-so-distant future.