If SF wants to catch up to Rams and Seahawks, these young 49ers need to step up
How far the San Francisco 49ers go in 2026 will tie directly to players who haven’t yet proven their value.
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch know what they’ll get from their group of stars like Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Fred Warner (health permitting, of course).
But their ability to jump past the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks or NFC runner-up Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West will come down to the rest of the roster — especially as the Rams added a defensive superstar in Myles Garrett in a blockbuster trade earlier this week.
Shanahan and Lynch won’t be able to rely on their paddock of stars forever. They’ll have to find new ones as their current stars age out.
So here’s a look at young players (not including rookies) the 49ers are relying on to take big jumps in 2026, in order for the 49ers to take a big jump and win back the NFC West for the first time since 2023.
WR Ricky Pearsall
It’s unlikely the 49ers for 17 games will be able to count on George Kittle (coming off an Achilles tear), McCaffrey (coming off a career-high 413-touch regular season) and Evans (coming off missing nine games due to hamstring, shoulder and head injuries).
Which points to Pearsall needing to become a reliable receiver should he be needed in a prominent role. Pearsall appeared in only nine games last year because of a problematic knee injury that lingered throughout the second half of the season. He didn’t play in the Wild Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles and didn’t register a catch in 42 snaps in the blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round.
That’s not to say Pearsall hasn’t shown signs of promise. He opened the season with 16 catches for 281 yards over his first three games, which included a pivotal 45-yard deep ball that set up in the game winning touchdown in the opener in Seattle. But he finished the season with just 36 catches and no touchdowns.
Pearsall has the skill set to become a top flight receiver in Shanahan’s offense. And there’s a potential vacuum at receiver after this season if Evans is only around for 2026. Pearsall is eligible for a contract extension next spring and could cash out with a strong showing in Year 3.
DL Mykel Williams
It doesn’t take an X’s and O’s expert to point out the 49ers’ last two first-round draft picks need to become high-end contributors. But they will have a hard time getting to where they want to go if Pearsall and defensive end Mykel Williams don’t develop.
Williams, like Pearsall, has looked like a future stud — but an ACL injury midway through 2025 derailed his rookie season. The 49ers view Williams as a versatile cog in their defensive line machine, with the ability to set the edge in running situations and pass rush against guards on passing downs. It’s the same role Arik Armstead enjoyed success in when he led the 49ers with 10 sacks during their Super Bowl season in 2019.
Williams turns 22 later this month and is younger going into his second season than every member of the 49ers’ April draft class. The team believes he still has a lot of development left and could become a dominant player after getting drafted 11th overall.
Furthering the pressure in Williams are the long-term questions about Bosa, who’s coming off the third ACL tear in his football career dating back to high school. If his career is similar to that of brother Joey Bosa, Nick is unlikely to be an every-snap iron man at this point in his career. Which means Williams could see significant time as San Francisco’s top edge defender in the near future.
DTs Alfred Collins/CJ West
We’re mentioning two more defensive linemen here because Lynch has always harped on the importance of winning up front for the defense to have any success. That puts pressure on Collins and West, two second-year defensive tackles, to complement their talented defensive ends.
The 2019 season will always be the blueprint when it comes to San Francisco’s dominant defense that was nearly good enough to win a Super Bowl. That team had Armstead playing inside and out, DeForest Buckner working at a Pro Bowl level at the “3-technique” making life easier on Bosa and Dee Ford on the outside.
San Francisco, of course, finished dead last in the NFL with just 20 sacks last season, largely because of injuries to Bosa and Williams. They addressed some of their pass rushing concerns by acquiring Osa Odighizuwa in a trade from the Dallas Cowboys. And while his pressure numbers have been among the best for defensive tackles, he’s never had more than 4.5 sacks in a season.
Keeping up with the Rams and Seahawks will take being dominant along the defensive front again. That’s where Collins and West come in.
Collins played nearly half the snaps last season, registering one sack and 17 combined tackles. His physical traits (6-5, 332, 34 5/8-inch arm length) stand out. But he’ll continue to work on his pad level as his role is expected to increase in his second season.
West is more of a traditional run stopper and isn’t expected to bring the same pass rushing juice. His role is expected to expand with Jordan Elliott and Kalia Davis gone in free agency to the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, respectively.
Whoever starts at left guard
As of the first week of June, there’s only one battle for a starting spot on offense: the guy lining up directly next to Trent Williams.
The 49ers are going into training camp next month with a competition for the starting left guard spot after allowing Spencer Burford to leave in free agency.
The competition is expected to be three players deep. Connor Colby, a second-year player from Iowa; Robert Jones, a free-agent addition who missed all of last season with a training camp neck injury; and rookie fourth-round draft pick Carver Willis, all of whom bring different resumes to the table.
Colby was taken in the seventh round last year and started at left guard Weeks 3 through 8. But he didn’t play well enough to keep the job over Burford. The 49ers signed Jones to a modest $1.75 million contract despite not playing a down last season, though he started all 17 games in 2024 with the Miami Dolphins running former 49ers coordinator Mike McDaniel’s offense.
Willis might have the highest upside of the group given his skill set and the 49ers’ belief in him. But he’s transitioning to guard after playing tackle in college, where things move a lot faster and blitzes come from more directions.
Honorable mention: Safety
The 49ers’ safeties are one of their weakest groups on the roster, and it didn’t get addressed in the draft. Malik Mustapha projects to be the standout of the group but struggled in his second season after missing the start of it with a knee injury.
Ja’Ayir Brown has been a roller coaster since getting drafted in the third round in 2023, and Marques Sigle showed signs as a rookie but was picked on in coverage too often.
The 49ers need more from all three players in 2026.
