49ers made 'reach after reach' in 2026 NFL Draft with just one top-100 best picks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The San Francisco 49ers traded out of the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft and swung a few other trades throughout the draft to wind up with a decent haul of picks at their disposal. But the players they took didn't instill much confidence.
De'Zhaun Stribling was a reach, and it was only the beginning of a draft class chock-full of reaches. Overall, their 2026 NFL Draft class was a bit disappointing.
ESPN's Matt Miller, in his top-100 best picks of the draft, included just one pick from the 49ers, and it was defensive tackle Gracen Halton, who ranked 76th overall, the worst ranking of any team's best pick from Miller.
"The 49ers' draft class featured reach after reach, so Halton is their only representation on this list," Miller writes.
San Francisco came out of the draft with Stribling at No. 33 overall, Romello Height at No. 70, Kaelon Black at No. 90, Halton at No. 107, Carver Willis at No. 127, Ephesians Prysock at No. 139, Jaden Dugger at No. 154, and Enrique Cruz Jr. at No. 179.
This is not a very exciting draft class, as most of these selections were reaches, especially for Stribling, Height, and Black in the first three rounds.
More: 49ers searching for possible Brandon Aiyuk trade instead of a simple release
Halton was their best pick according to Miller, and their lone representative on his top-100 best pick ranking for this year's draft.
He's a 6-foot-2, 292-pound defensive tackle who can pair nicely with Osa Odighizuwa in the interior of the D-Line. He had 3.5 sacks last year and five the year prior. He might not be the most productive lineman, but he's a solid depth piece for this defense.
While he's a perfectly fine pick in Round 4, the rest of their draft class left a lot to be desired, and makes for a disappointing haul from the 49ers in this year's draft.
Mac Jones trade demand from 49ers is ‘astronomical’ price
49ers might be interested in Joel Bitonio after decade-plus with Browns
49ers plan to limit Christian McCaffrey’s touches in 2026
Nick Bosa named as 49ers’ most overpaid player with $170M dealoi