NFL draft updates: 49ers make first Round 5 choice as team nears its end of picks
After a series of trades over the first two days of the 2026 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers are poised to add several players Saturday on the third and final day of the draft.
The action kicked off at 9 a.m. Pacific time, with Saturday covering rounds 4-7. The 49ers entered the day with five picks, including four in Round 4.
The 49ers made two trades Thursday to trade out of the first round and made two more Friday to add draft capital in the fourth and fifth rounds, pushing their haul of picks from six to eight to start Saturday.
San Francisco kicked off its Saturday selections by picking Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton with the 107th overall pick.
They followed this by taking Washington offensive tackle Carver Willis with the 127th overall pick just before 10:30 a.m. Shortly after this, the 49ers traded the 133rd pick to the Baltimore Ravens. They then chose Washington cornerback Ephesians Prysock with the 139th pick and Louisiana linebacker Jaden Dugger at No. 154.
Ragin’ Cajun to spice up 49ers linebacker corps?
The mid-late rounds of the NFL Draft are when names can come out of seemingly nowhere. To wit, the 49ers drafted Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns linebacker Jaden Dugger with their first pick of the fifth round and 154th overall selection of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Dugger was ranked as the 365th-best overall prospect by ESPN and was tabbed as the 25th-best linebacker in a New York Times special draft section.
He wasn’t a total unknown, though.
Dugger was selected to play in this year’s East-West Shrine Bowl, traditionally a showcase for NFL-bound players. Alex Kozora, writing for a Pittsburgh Steelers fan blog, noted that Dugger’s background at the safety position was evident and that he was “able to close space in a hurry and displays sideline-to-sideline range.”
49ers look to same school twice in Round 4
Shortly before the 49ers drafted Ephesians Prysock with the 139th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, they also drafted his college teammate Carver Willis.
In a conference call with reporters after his selection, Willis offered a hint as to why the 49ers could have a pipeline to the Huskies. “A lot of the coaches at Washington have deep relationships with the 49ers and they model a lot of what we did at Washington off of the 49ers,” Willis said.
In Prysock, the 49ers will get a 6-3, 196-pound corner who spent his first two years at Arizona before transferring to Washington. ESPN had Prysock as the 158th-best prospect overall, saying he could “set the edge” when defending the run.
San Francisco adds fifth rounder, 2027 pick by trading No. 133
The story of the 2026 draft for the 49ers has been trades, with the team making its fifth deal so far this draft on Saturday.
San Francisco flipped the 133rd pick to Baltimore, shortly before the 49ers were to make the selection. In return, San Francisco received the 154th pick this year and a sixth-round selection in the 2027 draft.
There was one player on the board at No. 133 who the 49ers might have ruffled feathers by taking: North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance, who went to the New Orleans Saints three picks later. Lance is the younger brother of Trey Lance, who the 49ers selected third overall in 2021 and who lasted just two years in San Francisco.
49ers add to offensive line with Carver Willis
That the 49ers will need an offensive tackle at some point in the next few years to replace soon-to-be 38-year-old Trent Williams is no secret.
One potential option in the succession planning: Carver Willis, taken by the 49ers with their second pick of the fourth round on Saturday.
“I knew I was on their radar but I had no idea they were about to take me,” Willis said in a call with reporters Saturday. He noted that he’d met the 49ers offensive line coach a couple of times.
Willis spent four years at Kansas State and played his final season for Washington. His ESPN draft card rates him at the 206th-best prospect, suggesting the 49ers drafted for positional need rather than taking the best available player.
It is unclear if Willis will stay at tackle in the NFL or switch to guard. While he seemingly has the height at 6-5 and could add to his 303-pound frame to have the heft for tackle, ESPN noted that Willis could be better-suited for the NFL as a guard.
Who is Gracen Halton? How he could help 49ers defense
ESPN ranks the 22-year-old Halton as the 93rd-best prospect in the draft, suggesting that San Francisco made a quality value selection.
Halton played all four seasons for Oklahoma, finishing his collegiate career with 84 tackles and 8.5 sacks, according to his Sooners Sports bio. He was never a consistent starter in Oklahoma, logging 10 starts against 47 appearances total and making his most starts, seven, in his senior season.
Along with third-round draft choice and Texas Tech edge rusher Romello Height, who San Francisco chose 70th overall on Friday, Halton joins a 49ers defense that suffered after losing Nick Bosa to a season-ending injury in 2025. Last year’s first round selection Mykel Williams was also lost to injury and Bryce Huff has retired, meaning both Halton and Height could get early chances to prove their mettle.
“I didn’t expect the 49ers but it’s a blessing,” Halton told reporters Saturday following his selection.
Halton boasts some combination of size and speed for a defensive tackle, with 4.82-second 40-yard dash while standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 292 pounds. Sports Illustrated also noted that his vertical jump of 36.5 inches was tops among defensive tackles.
When the 49ers will be making their other picks Saturday
As of the early fifth round, the 49ers held the following remaining draft picks this year:
- Round 5, 179th overall pick
They made the 33rd and 90th picks on Friday, adding Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling and Indiana running back Kaelon Black, respectively.
Whether San Francisco adds additional selections Saturday through trade, including in Round 6 or Round, remains to be seen. Barring this, with the rate that picks are occurring, the 49ers could be done with their draft in time for lunch.
But as soon the draft is over, of course, teams will clamor to sign undrafted free agents, meaning the class of new 49ers heading into the 2026 season will likely grow again.
This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 10:05 AM.
