49ers Named NFL Draft Loser After Massive Reach
The 2026 NFL Draft is officially over, and some teams came out on top while others had some wondering why they made certain decisions.
The San Francisco 49ers are part of the second group, and although San Francisco has a talented roster, their draft strategy raised some eyebrows.
For starters, they traded out of the first round and moved to No. 33 overall, the first pick in the second round.
Then, the 49ers selected Ole Miss wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling at No. 33, and while he is a talented player, it was viewed as a massive reach and maybe a player SF could've selected later.
John Breech of CBS Sports had some losers of the draft, and the 49ers were there, with Breech mentioning the team's draft strategy.
The 49ers then selected Indiana Hoosiers running back Kaelon Black in the third round, even though Black wasn't invited to the NFL Combine, so it was another reach by San Francisco.
"The 49ers might need to start rethinking their draft strategy, because whatever their doing isn't working, especially at the top. They went into the draft with the 27th overall pick, but after making two trades, they didn't end up making their first pick until 33rd overall. That was the first pick of the second round, which is one of the best picks you can have in the draft, because other teams are always eager to trade into the spot," Breech wrote.
49ers' Recent Draft History Isn't Promising
The 49ers taking two skill positions early in the draft was a bit of a surprise, especially reaching for two players as they did.
And, to go even further, the recent history of the franchise with Kyle Shanahan as the head coach isn't very exciting, either.
Every skill position the 49ers have drafted on Day 2 in the Shanahan era
— Ryan Heath (@RyanJ_Heath) April 24, 2026
WR De'Zhaun Stribling
TE Cameron Latu
RB Tyrion-Davis-Price
WR Danny Gray
RB Trey Sermon
WR Deebo Samuel
WR Jalen Hurd
WR Dante Pettis
"Shanahan has one of the smartest offensive minds in the NFL, but for some reason, the 49ers can never find players who fit his system early in the draft, and based on their picks this year, it feels like they could strike out again," Breech added.
Then again, teams spend months scouting these players and watching film, so maybe they know something that the rest of us don't.
Related: 49ers Make $9 Million Move to Avoid Major Problems Faced Last Season
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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 1:40 AM.