The NFL Draft always brings chaos, but this year it feels even crazier than usual.

Double-digit teams are trying to move up in the first round as franchise quarterbacks and game-changing wide receivers headline this year's class.

While on Thursday one NFC West team, the Los Angeles Rams, was reported to be looking to advance to the first round, The Athletic's Diana Russini now reported that a second team in that league is interested in advancing – and that is the case They're taking calls on two of their best players.

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 11: Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk #11 of the San Francisco 49ers line up during an NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers…
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 11: Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk #11 of the San Francisco 49ers face off during an NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 11 at Levi's Stadium on , 2022 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers are reportedly fielding calls on Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk to move up in the draft.
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Russini reports that the San Francisco 49ers are interested in moving up in the first round and have had discussions with teams around All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel and the dominant Brandon Aiyuk.

According to sources, the 49ers have had discussions with teams, including a pick in the top 10, about trading their prized wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel to move up in the first round.

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 25, 2024

Aiyuk has been in the headlines all season, long after a trade request was reported. However, 49ers general manager John Lynch revealed that the team would like to keep him in San Francisco for the remainder of his career.

Aiyuk is having the best year of his young career in 2023. The former first-round pick caught 75 passes for a career-high 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns last season. This was followed by a 2022 season in which he set career highs with 78 catches and eight touchdowns and 1,015 yards.

However, Aiyuk is seeking a long-term deal, which is why he has made his name in trade talks this offseason.

As for Samuel, he has already received his long-term contract, although only after his own offseason full of drama and trade requests in 2022. He did, however, secure his big deal, a three-year, $71.5 million contract that runs through the next Season is underway.

If the 49ers were to trade Samuel on Thursday, they would pocket over $21 million in dead money, according to Over The Cap. As for Aiyuk, he's entering the final year of his rookie contract, which will pay him just over $14 million, but he wants a long-term deal.

This year's class is full of wide receivers. So if the 49ers wanted to add one on a rookie deal, they would have their options.

The best receiver in this year's class is probably Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., but not far behind are LSU's Malik Nabers and Washington's Rome Odunze. Those are the “big three” and all would require the team to move up, probably to the top 10. After that, there are other great options like Texas' Adonai Mitchell, LSU's Brian Thomas Jr., Oregon's Troy Franklin and Florida's Keon Coleman from the State.

The 49ers currently have the No. 31 pick in the first round. But it sounds like they're aiming for a promotion, similar to what they did in 2020 when they got Aiyuk. In this draft, they moved up to No. 25 from the same No. 31.

Unusual knowledge

Newsweek strives to challenge conventional wisdom and find connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek strives to challenge conventional wisdom and find connections in the search for common ground.

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Payroll errors in 2022 caused the NFL to deprive the San Francisco 49ers of a 2025 fifth-round draft pick and forfeit a better position in the fourth round of the 2024 draft due to an accounting error that occurred impacted salary cap projections.

“This action resulted from a league review that identified errors in payroll processing at the end of the 2022 league year that resulted in a misstatement of the club’s cumulative player compensation. “The NFL concluded that regardless of the error, the club would have remained under the salary cap at all times and there was no intent to circumvent the cap,” the league said in a statement.

Statement from the NFL regarding the #49ers forfeiting their original 5th round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and moving their 4th round pick this year to the bottom of the round behind the compensatory pick (No. 135):

“This action resulted from a review by the league which determined that….”

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) March 18, 2024

The NFL also moved the San Francisco 49ers' fourth-round draft pick, No. 131, to the bottom of the round, behind the compensatory picks, at No. 135.

“We accept responsibility and accept the disciplinary action imposed by the NFL due to a payroll clerical error. At no time did we mislead or otherwise deceive the league or gain any competitive advantage in connection with the payroll error,” the 49ers said in a statement Monday.

Important offseason dates for the San Francisco 49ers

• March 13th – The 2024 free agency signing period has begun
• 24th-27th March – Annual league meeting in Orlando
• 25-27 April – NFL Draft in Detroit

Thank you for reading SactownSports.com. Follow us on Twitter and Google News and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

–Field level media

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Facing seemingly insolvable performance challenges from its kitchen ventilation system, Bridges Restaurant & Bar, Danville, Calif. was ready to outlay upwards of $20,000 for a new rooftop make-up air system.

Instead of exiting through the dual exhaust cooking hood, smoke and food odors wafted into portions of the 3,300-square-foot dining area raising complaints from patrons seated at tables near the kitchen.

The 24-year-old, independently-owned Bridges is popularly known in the San Francisco area for its casual-elegant dining and also as the famous location for actor Robin Williams’ comedic multiple costume changes in the 1993 Hollywood movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire.” Because of its upscale image and popularity, the vexing dining area cooking odors were bad for business and affected the overall guest experience, according to Kevin Gin, executive chef and a member of the restaurant’s investor consortium.

Furthermore, drafts from the existing make-up air HVAC system were drawing smoke and grease, that should have been contained within the cooking exhaust hood, and depositing them onto the diffuser, walls ceilings and other kitchen surfaces requiring more than $1,000 annually in maintenance labor and cleaning compounds.

Besides odor infiltration and maintenance costs, the drafts from the air conditioning supply over the food prep area was prematurely cooling prepared hot entrees while employees in other kitchen areas were uncomfortably hot.

Finding a Low Cost Solution
A large HVAC retrofit outlay seemed imminent until an arranged meeting between Gin and an HVAC ventilation product manger attending a Bridges-held 25th anniversary dinner for the nearby Food Service Technology Center (FSTC), a San Ramon, Calif.-based commercial foodservice equipment performance test lab funded by Pacific Gas & Electric. Nick Paschke, product manager at textile HVAC ductwork manufacturer, DuctSox Corp., Peosta, Iowa, recommended a custom textile air dispersion system designed specifically for kitchens. The ceiling-mounted device disperses airflow uniformly, parallel and in front of the kitchen exhaust hood. The fabric diffuser is an easy-to-install replacement for metal air distribution diffusers that commonly cause kitchen exhaust hood overflow.

Instead of a 5,000-cfm make-up air equipment replacement, only the kitchen’s lone conventional 3 x 3-foot supply box and four metal diffusers were switched out. Located over the food prep line to distribute air throughout the 1,000-square-foot kitchen, the diffusers were replaced with two eight-foot-long, 28-inch-diameter D-shaped KitchenSox fabric diffusers. Instead of the metal diffuser’s estimated 500-fpm airflow that caused turbulence and disruption of the cooking hood’s capture, the air is gently and evenly dispersed through the fabric into the entire kitchen area at a significantly slower 85-fpm rate. Without the previous high velocity airflow and subsequent turbulence, the dual exhaust cooking hood now efficiently performs up to its design standards and captures smoke, grease particulates and cooking odors without overflow.

CulinAire Systems, El Dorado Hills, Calif., a foodservice ventilation contractor specializing in demand ventilation controls and engineered kitchen ventilation equipment, fabricated the sheet metal plenum and metal/fabric adaptors that supply the 16 linear feet of fabric duct. The fabric duct system and metal accessories were installed by CulinAire overnight without disruption to the kitchen operation.

Without the drafts, the excessive airborne smoke, grease deposits and dirt that the return air system had once drawn onto diffusers, kitchen walls, ceilings and cabinets no longer occurs, which has expedited daily cleaning and sanitation routines.

Gin also plans annual cleaning since the fabric diffuser can be disassembled by kitchen staffers in just minutes and commercially laundered, a process that would require days to complete by an outside contractor with a metal system.

Green Mission Accomplished
By improving the air distribution and eliminating the hood’s hot air overflow into the kitchen, a considerable energy savings supplements Bridges’ green mission, which is strategically marketed among its clientele. Gin said it’s difficult to pinpoint energy savings of the new system because FSTC continually uses Bridges as a beta test site for new technology. However, Gin did estimate recent Bridges’ conservation efforts are saving the restaurant more than 20-percent in energy costs with quick investment paybacks.

For example, FSTC oversees results of Bridges’ variable speed Intelli-Hood control, which is manufactured by Melink Corp., Milford, Ohio, and won the renowned “AHR Innovation Award” in the ventilation category presented at the 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago.

Other green equipment includes:
· A Cyclone Xi 96-percent efficient hot water heater by A.O. Smith, Ashland City, Tenn.;
· A variable temperature control for more efficiently running walk-in cooler operation by E-Control Systems, Sherman Oaks, Calif.;
· High temperature/reduced water kitchen and bar dishwashers by Hobart Corp., Troy, Ohio;
· A lighting retrofit from standard bulbs to compact fluorescent;
· The highest efficiency equipment available today in fryers, convection ovens and ice machines by Vulcan-Hart Co., Baltimore, Md.; the Garland Group, Freeland, Pa.; and Manitowoc Ice Inc., Manitowoc, Wis.; respectively.

Bridges’ challenges with HVAC ventilation was solved completely with fabric diffusers that cost less than ten percent of the approximate $20,000 for a new make-up air system. Furthermore, the energy savings and reduced maintenance costs offer a payback of less than one year on the air diffusion system. “This is really a common problem (inadequate cooking hood drafting) I think many restaurants suffer from and don’t realize there’s a simple, inexpensive solution,” said Gin. “We once thought replacing the HVAC system would improve our kitchen ventilation challenges, but we now realize it probably wouldn’t have remedied what was actually a ventilation problem that fabric ductwork solved.”

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PAT GRAHAM
Associated Press

For all the things the Thompson Twins share — middle name, appetite for burgers, dynamic basketball skill sets — matching suits on draft night won’t be one of them.

Amen and Ausar Thompson are dressing for success in their own unique style as they prepare to go in their own separate directions for really the first time. The 6-foot-7 guards out of Overtime Elite are projected in the AP mock draft to be selected in the top 10 Thursday night in New York.

That means, barring a daring move by a team, they will wind up in different cities.

It’s a situation that’s still hard to fully fathom for the 20-year-olds from California. It’s also a situation that reveals another shared trait: Their sense of humor.

“We’ll just constantly text each other,” explained Amen, who’s the older twin by a minute.

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“But you don’t check your phone,” Ausar quickly countered.

“He’s lying,” Amen responded.

Kidding aside, their aim is to live up to their shared middle name of “XLNC” (pronounced excellence), which was bestowed on them to convey a sense of power.

“Just so with every time you’re saying their name, there’s that power behind it,” their dad, Troy, said. “Excellence, greatness — we always use all these power words and so do they, in their own expressions, so they’re always thinking on that high note.”

The Thompsons moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Florida when the twins were in eighth grade to enhance their basketball careers. The playmakers shined at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, leading the team to a state title. They received offers from several traditional Power Five basketball programs.

The twins took the road less traveled to the NBA draft by signing with Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league based in Atlanta that’s opening another door to the pros for talented young players.

It was a chance to focus on basketball full-time and build up their strength. They did, too, adding 25 pounds of muscle over their two-year tenure with the league. An opportunity at a paycheck, too — Overtime Elite, which launched in 2021, compensates players with annual salaries of at least $100,000.

Their first year, the twins played on different Overtime Elite teams.

This past season, they combined — and dominated.

Amen (rhymes with “a pen”) averaged 17.2 points, 9.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds in the playoffs to lead the City Reapers to the championship.

Not to be outdone, Ausar (rhymes with “a car”), had a postseason in which he averaged 21 points, 4.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds.

When it came time to vote for the league’s regular season MVP award, it was no surprise who voted for whom.

Ausar earned MVP (along with the postseason version, too).

“It would have been funny” if Ausar won by one vote, Amen joked. “I would’ve taken mine back.”

They enjoy teasing one another — and pushing each other. They’re always in the gym, hoisting up shots or working on their footwork. They’re competitive, too, whether it be in friendly games on the court or in the video game NBA 2K, where they’re in agreement — Ausar reigns supreme on the video-game controller in hoops.

Their go-to meal comes from In-N-Out Burger. Ausar prefers a double cheeseburger with lettuce and special sauce, maybe grilled onions. Amen likes the same, just hold the cheese.

Amen’s scouting report reads like this: Explosive athleticism, with exceptional court vision. Can break down defenders with his ball-handling skills and elite first step.

Ausar’s report: Essentially the same as his brother.

Ausar projects as more of a combo guard and Amen as a ball handler in the NBA. Amen is predicted to go fourth overall to Houston and Ausar sixth to Orlando.

Their dad saw a path to the twins being elite when they were around 8 and going against players three, sometimes four, years older.

“You knew that their forward trajectory was going to be fast, because they were already improving at such a high rate,” Troy said. “From here on, I just want to enjoy watching them continue to grow into this dream and just achieve the greatness they always talked about.”

They describe their bond as “twin telepathy,” which Ausar said comes in handy not only on the basketball floor but in life.

Don’t ask for specifics, though, because that’s top secret.

“It would be bad for the world if everybody knew how to do it. I just know where he’s going to be at all times,” Ausar said.

Leading into the draft, they’ve been traveling to work out for interested teams. In Portland, they met Damian Lillard. A year ago, they were introduced to Golden State Warriors great Stephen Curry at his camp.

“It’s super cool meeting them,” Ausar said.

Amen and Ausar said they’ve competed against many of the big names in the draft class with the exception of Victor Wembanyama, the French star who is expected to go No. 1 to the San Antonio Spurs.

The twins are bracing for the likely separation and distance between them. They’re even planning for the big moment when both meet on the same NBA court at a soon-to-be-determined spot.

“That,” Amen said, “is going to make for one cool picture.”

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David Esquer (Photo by Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Reports for the last three weeks have persisted saying that the ACC was considering adding California, SMU and Stanford. Now, the ACC is set to enact such a plan.

Cal and Stanford were two of the four teams left standing following the dramatic moves by the Big Ten (adding Oregon, Southern California, UCLA and Washington) and the Big 12 (adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah). As they moved to explore their options in the wake of the departures, the ACC emerged as a possible home. After a few stops and starts—and the inclusion of SMU, currently a member of the American Athletic Conference that doesn’t play baseball, an agreement reportedly was reached Friday.

All 10 schools are slated to depart the Pac-12 effective July 1, 2024, meaning this is the last year of the conference as we know it. As of now, when the next academic year begins, only Oregon State and Washington State will remain in the conference.

The latest moves aren’t as dramatic as the previous departures but there’s still plenty of fallout. Here’s a Q&A to try to make sense of it all.

Does this make sense?

While Cal, SMU and Stanford aren’t natural fits in the ACC, the plan is mutually beneficial. The ACC is dealing with some very public, very loud complaints from cornerstone members like Florida State about how the conference is falling behind financially in comparison to the Big Ten and SEC. The addition of the three new schools—all at initially reduced rates of revenue distribution—will allow for more money to be distributed to schools that were already in the conference. That seems to be the best plan right now for increasing revenue for the conference. For Cal and Stanford, while they will now have a massive increase in travel, they will remain in a major conference. They seem to view (probably correctly) having a home in a league with teams like Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, etc., is better for their national championship aspirations than being in a league that more closely resembles the current makeup of the American or Mountain West.

It’s not the most straightforward move, but conference composition is well beyond tradition at this point. The ACC is just the latest league to stretch from coast to coast. The Big Ten goes from Piscataway, N.J., to Los Angeles. The Big 12 stretches from Salt Lake City to Orlando. Conference USA goes from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Albuquerque, N.M. Chalk this one up as just another strange marriage that we’ll have to get used to starting next fall.

Stanford baseball comes out of this looking pretty good, right?

Yes. This move isn’t without drawbacks for the Cardinal, but I think it’s the best possible outcome for them on the diamond. Stanford now moves into the second-best baseball conference and will fit right in. The Cardinal have been to the last three College World Series and being in a conference of the ACC’s stature makes it all the easier to continue to compete at that level.

While I’ve previously argued that Stanford could make it work if it ended up in a smaller conference because of its unique recruiting profile, now we won’t have to put that hypothesis to the test. Stanford will be in a league that’s full of major powers and national championship contenders. It won’t have to rethink its scheduling strategy to overcome a worse conference RPI or fight against any perception issues from playing outside a major conference. It also shouldn’t hurt Stanford much that it will now be playing on the West Coast less often. The majority of its roster is from California, but the Cardinal has long been a program that recruits nationally. Its fall roster includes players from 10 different states (plus Australia). It’s a strong brand and an elite degree and besides, if you’re a West Coast native who wants to play baseball in a major conference, you now either need to go cross country for school or get comfortable with playing a bunch of conference games in another time zone. This is admittedly the most dramatic of the options (the Big 12 is still mostly west of the Mississippi and the Big Ten at least has four schools on the West Coast, which are likely to annually play each other), but all of these teams have a lot of travel time in their future.

What about Cal?

Cal doesn’t have it quite as good as Stanford. It already isn’t a consistent NCAA Tournament team in the Pac-12 and now it’s going to be playing in a tougher conference. Unlike the Cardinal, the Golden Bears don’t recruit nationally—all but two of their players on last season’s roster were from California.

I still think this a win for Cal, however, and that’s all down to money. Its athletic department is not in a strong financial position. It has a lot of debt to pay off on its football stadium and it was little more than a decade ago that the school cut baseball before reversing course at the 11th hour. If Cal is making this move, it must think this is the best financial proposition. While the Golden Bears might have had a better chance at making the NCAA Tournament in a different league, this is probably better for long-term stability.

The ACC was already the second-best baseball conference. Does this move the needle at all?

Honestly, probably not. I’d argue this makes the ACC a better, deeper league, but at best it’s just offsetting the SEC’s strengthening through next year’s additions of Oklahoma and Texas. Maybe this provides some further separation from the Big 12 and Big Ten, but what is that worth? It’s hard to see the ACC getting more credit in the selection committee room just because it’s clearly the second-best conference, if that is how it plays out.

So, what is ACC baseball getting in this move?

Stanford is a two-time national champion and has been to Omaha 19 times. It’s won the Pac-12 three times in the last five years and routinely produces All-American talent. Cal hasn’t been quite as successful, but it has Omaha pedigree and has produced three first-round picks in the last five years. The ACC is a better baseball conference with those teams in it.

The most significant on-field ramification is that there will be some fun series to come out of it. Stanford playing Louisville or Virginia or Wake Forest should make for a fun series. Cal taking on Pitt, as it did this spring in non-conference action, may not move the needle as much, but there could be seasons when a Cal-Clemson or Cal-Louisville showdown is meaningful.

How does this impact the players?

As I wrote a couple weeks ago, the breakup of the Pac-12 does create real concern for players. We don’t yet know what the ACC will do with its scheduling model, but it probably won’t appreciably change. And that means that every year Cal and Stanford are looking at four or five cross-country trips, depending on whether they host the rivalry series or not. With a few exceptions, ACC schools are generally located close to major airports, and it seems likely that Cal and Stanford will have to charter flights more often going forward. But even a flight between San Francisco and Chicago is 3.5 hours. It’s five hours to Boston or Miami.

All that travel, missed class and altered sleep schedules will have some impact. There’s also the fact that now more games will be further away from home for most of the Cardinal and Golden Bears, which makes it harder for family and friends to see games. What that does for a player’s mental health will vary, but many will no doubt feel its effects.

What about Oregon State and Washington State? What do they do now?

Oregon State and Washington State have been very public in the last couple weeks about their desire to hold the four remaining Pac-12 schools together and reform the conference. They’ve also been pretty open about understanding that the ACC possibility had to resolve itself before that could truly take shape. Now, they have clarity about the future of Cal and Stanford.

Anything Oregon State and Washington State do now will likely put them in a conference that looks like the American or Mountain West. They may still call it the Pac-12 for financial reasons, but it’s not going to be the same.

For Washington State, this is particularly bad news. The Cougars, like Cal, have a tough financial situation already and they will see their revenue fall in a new conference. Oregon State will also have to deal with less revenue but is coming from a completely different place in baseball with its three national championship trophies and strong fan base.

I’ve argued that Oregon State can continue to play high-level baseball no matter what conference it ends up in—if it continues to make the investment needed to retain a premier coaching staff and recruit at a high level. Coastal Carolina, Dallas Baptist and East Carolina are examples of schools that are consistently achieving at high levels outside the power conference structure. While it’s true that between them, they only have one CWS appearance (Coastal, 2016), they also don’t have Oregon State’s history. The Beavers have already proven they can win and produce big leaguers. It should be easier for Oregon State to convince players that they can still do all of that regardless of their conference affiliation than it was a decade ago for a school like DBU.

The margin for error will be smaller—just ask any Big West school—but if Oregon State decides it wants to continue to be a baseball power, I believe it can still be that kind of program.

Other than Oregon State and Washington State finding a home, is this the end of the realignment/consolidation chaos?

For now, probably. Some ACC schools probably still aren’t thrilled with their situation (North Carolina made a public statement Thursday night opposing it), but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has gone out of his way to make it clear the conference wants to onboard Oklahoma and Texas before looking at anything else. The Big Ten just went through an expansion process over the last 12 months and only seemed to add Oregon and Washington because of the perilous nature of the Pac-12. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has said it’s no longer looking at Connecticut and Gonzaga, previous expansion targets.

Unless Florida State or some other ACC school finds a way to get out of or challenge the grant of rights (which ties up its conference TV payout through 2036), this should be the end of the major changes in the immediate future.

This current format itself will probably only be temporary—conferences change far more often than we’d like to think—and potentially major changes are on the horizon. But this should carry college sports through this decade, at least.

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The 49ers will set out to bolster a Super Bowl-caliber roster on Friday when they’re due to make three picks in the third round of the NFL Draft, but their path through the NFC seems to have gotten tougher after the first day of picks in Kansas City.

San Francisco saw the quality of its biggest rival in the division and the team that beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game improve as both the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles played impressive first rounds.

Seattle won gold with Pick 5 and 20th overall pick, landing Illinois State cornerback Devon Witherspoon and Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Witherspoon gives the Seahawks a fluid and physical corner, characterized by excellent plays at catch point and an aggressive playstyle that the secondary in Seattle was arguably lacking. In his final season in Illinois, he had three interceptions and 14 pass breakups.

Smith-Njigba, on the other hand, is an exceptionally smooth and creative route-runner, excellent at tracking the ball and adding yards after catches. He’ll likely play mostly next-level slots, can form an impressive trio with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and help Geno Smith continue to thrive after his 2022 comeback Player of the Year season.

The Seahawks were swept by the 49ers in the regular season and routed in the San Francisco wild card round. Witherspoon improves Seattle’s chances of defending San Francisco’s star-studded offense, while Smith-Njigba poses a potentially significant problem for a vaunted defense that lost Emmanuel Moseley and Jimmie Ward from the secondary on free hands.

San Francisco will still be the favorite to successfully defend its NFC West title in 2023, but a bigger problem for the 49ers could be toppling the team that ended its Super Bowl hopes last season has finished.

The conference title game may have been effectively decided on the 49ers’ first offensive series when Brock Purdy tore the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the elbow of his throwing arm, but Georgia Eagles new signings Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith The ninth and 30th picks will make a defensive front that caused significant problems for the Niners in January even more difficult to stop.

Smith, considered by many to be the first-round steal, had lost 15 tackles in his last two seasons with the Bulldogs.

Of course, the 49ers have one of the best rosters in football themselves, and they reinforced their excellent defensive line by signing defensive tackle Javon Hargrave from the Eagles in the headline San Francisco offseason.

And given their recent history of uncovering contributors with mid- and late-round picks, the Niners will be confident of improving their roster despite a lack of premium capital.

Still, it has to be argued that the Seahawks closed the gap and the Eagles created an even greater obstacle with their respective first-round moves that should make them better now and in the future. Last but not least, the progress they’ve made with their top pick reinforces the importance of the 49ers capitalizing on this Super Bowl window as soon as possible.

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I’m a UK-based journalist who has covered the NFL extensively since 2014. I was previously a featured columnist with the San Francisco 49ers for Bleacher Report and have since written for Fanside covering all aspects of the league for their flagship website and the NFL Draft for ‘With The First Pick’.

I cover the league from an analytical perspective for the Pro Football Network and have also been featured frequently in Sporting News. I am also a contributor to UK NFL magazine Gridiron, with articles published in the monthly and weekly online editions.

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The 49ers have reached the NFC Championship Game in three of the last four seasons, including an appearance in Super Bowl LIV in the 2019 season. Last season, San Francisco opened the year with a 3-4 record before starting the regular season with ended a 10-game winning streak and won the NFC West with a 13-4 record despite using three different starting quarterbacks.

Trey Lance started the first two games of last season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury Jimmy Garoppolo return to the starting role for 10 games. After Garoppolo sustained a foot injury, rookie Brock Purdy stepped in and won his first seven career starts, winning five straight in the regular season before beating the Seahawks and Cowboys in the playoffs. Purdy, the “Mr. Irrelevant” as the final overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, went down early in the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia with an elbow injury, forcing the fourth string josh johnson in action. Purdy underwent offseason elbow surgery and the 49ers must now decide who will be the best QB between Purdy and Lance.

For the second year in a row, the 49ers are without a pick in the first round after trading away their top picks in 2022 and 2023 to advance to the Select QB Trey Lance Third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. They also traded their second-round pick this year to the Panthers in the Christian McCaffrey Last season’s deal, meaning the 49ers’ first pick of this year’s draft will not come until the third round (99th overall).

Click here for the entire 2023 NFL draft order, and read on to see what picks the 49ers will have in the 2023 NFL draft. Coverage of the latest NFL news is available year-round on Pro Football Talk on Peacock and the NFL on the NBC YouTube channel.

San Francisco 49ers 2023 NFL Draft Picks:

Round 3: #99

Round 3: #101

Round 3: #102

Round 5: No. 155 (by MIA)

Round 5: #164

Round 5: #173

Round 6: #216

Round 7: No. 222 (by DEN)

Round 7: #247

Round 7: #253

Round 7: #255

Check out draft picks for other teams in the NFC West:

2023 Seattle Seahawks draft picks

LA Rams 2023 draft picks

Arizona Cardinals 2023 draft picks

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Nick Zakelj spent five years at Fordham becoming one of the best offensive tackles in the Patriot Conference. That path isn’t likely to continue in the NFL after the 49ers picked him 187th overall in this year’s draft. Zakelj told reporters in a press conference after he was selected that he anticipates a move inside as a pro.

“While I did play tackle in college and I’m most comfortable at it, getting those reps at guard at the Senior Bowl broadened my horizon,” he said via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “I’m open to being more of a guard at the next level.”

This has become a habit for the 49ers in the draft. Colton McKivitz in 2020 and Jaylon Moore in 2021 were both 49ers picks that played tackle in college, but were taken with the goal of moving them to the interior. This year’s fourth-round pick Spencer Burford also primarily played tackle in college and figures to kick inside as a pro.

Perhaps Zakelj acquits himself well on the outside and sticks at his natural position, but the 49ers need help inside. There are two starting guard jobs open and if Zakelj can make that move with his size and athleticism it’s easy to see how he’d successfully work his way into the new position.

49ers 2022 NFL draft: Takeaways from Day 2

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The Niners took Jackson 61st overall in the NFL draft on Friday night, marking the sixth time in the past eight drafts that they used their top pick on a defensive lineman.

San Francisco then took LSU running back Tyrion Davis-Price 93rd overall and SMU receiver Danny Gray with the 105th pick to end the third round.

Jackson had 12 1/2 sacks in three seasons for USC and adds another edge rushing option for the 49ers across from star Nick Bosa. San Francisco had hoped Dee Ford could fill that role but he has been hampered by injuries and isn’t expected back next season.

RELATED: 49ers GM Lynch ‘can’t ever imagine’ moving on from Deebo Samuel after star receiver asks for trade

“As soon as I get out there, I might try to find him and get a handshake from him,” Jackson said about Bosa. “I’m trying to do and get in there and start getting the knowledge and things that I need to grow and be a monster like him. He’s literally a gremlin on the side. He’s a monster. He puts fear into tackles’ eyes I want to be the same way.”

Jackson had his most productive season as a freshman in 2019 when he had 5 1/2 sacks and 11 1/2 tackles for loss in 11 games. He then had two sacks in six games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and five sacks and eight tackles for loss in 10 games last season.

He joins a group of defensive ends that feature Samson Ebukam, Kerry Hyder, Jordan Willis and Charles Omenihu and Kemoko Turay in the mix to complement Bosa.

Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek has gotten the best out of several pass rushers over the years and now has another piece to work with in San Francisco.

“I love to play for a coach that’s fired up like that and wants a lot out of his guys,” Jackson said. “It’s a challenge. I’m ready to take on that challenge.”

RELATED: NFL draft order 2022: All 262 picks over seven rounds, plus team-by-team selections

Davis-Price rushed for 1,003 yards and six TDs last season for LSU, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. This was the second straight year San Francisco used a third-round pick on a running back after taking Trey Sermon last year. But sixth-rounder Elijah Mitchell led the team with 963 yards rushing.

Gray adds a speed element to the Niners offense, running a 4.33 40-yard dash at the combine. Gray had 49 catches for 803 yards and nine TDs last season.

This marked the first time since 1996 that San Francisco didn’t have a pick in the first round. The Niners traded their 2022 and 2023 first-rounders to Miami last year to move up nine spots to take quarterback Trey Lance third overall.

Lance spent most of last season as a backup to Jimmy Garoppolo but is expected to take over as starter this season.

There was a chance the 49ers could have gotten a first-round pick had they granted All-Pro receiver Deebo Samuel’s trade request. But San Francisco opted to keep their top playmaker and hope to be able to mend their relationship and agree on a long-term extension before the start of the season.

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The NFL Draft is eight days away, and the 49ers have nine draft picks to work with to improve their roster. While I don’t foresee the 49ers using all nine of those selections, for my first mock draft, I’m imposing a “no trade clause.” Last year, the narrative was that the 49ers had no “glaring holes” on the roster, but yet they made eight selections and all eight players made the team. It’s doubtful that will happen this year

61. Greg Dulcich, TE, UCLA

While I believe Dulcich ultimately goes higher than this, if he falls here, I think the 49ers should pounce. While not refined as a blocker at UCLA, I believe the concerns about his inability to be an in-line blocker are blown out of proportion. George Kittle wasn’t a finished product as a blocker coming out of Iowa, and Dulcich enters the NFL as a much more refined offensively as a “move tight end” than Kittle was.

Kyle Shanahan loves two tight end sets, and even if he doesn’t trust Dulcich right away as a blocker, Dulcich can immediately contribute as a quintessential Shanahan “offensive weapon.” Although Jauan Jennings’s improvement late last season is very encouraging, Dulcich would be a mismatch as a “big slot.” Dulcich lined up in the slot a lot, but had most of his snaps as an in-line tight end. Dulcich has great measurables with 34 inch arms, nearly 10 inch hands and being a full 6’4″, but he matches those measurables with production down the field. With an average depth of target of 12 yards and an insane 17.3 yards per reception, he’s a favorite among “box score scouts” but his ability to create separation in tight quarters is very impressive. Already an advanced route runner, he puts himself in great position to gain yards after the catch, which will have Shanahan salivating.

While his ability to be an in-line blocker might cause him to fall, the 49ers have shown that they are willing to draft with the future in mind. George Kittle isn’t going anywhere, but he will be 29 at the beginning of the coming season, and it’s never to early to add a weapon like Dulcich, grooming him to be Kittle’s heir apparent.

93. Myjai Sanders, Edge, Cincinnati

Myjai Sanders has been on the 49ers radar for a while, but he took a hit in the world of draft punditry after he showed up to the Combine 25 pounds lighter than he was at the Senior Bowl. Turns out he had been incredibly sick and wasn’t able to keep any food or water down for days before the Combine. Despite that, Sanders competed in most of the drills at the Combine while still being under the weather. He easily could’ve opted out, but he gutted it out, showing his character and willingness to let his tape do the talking.

Sanders is a perfect fit for a “wide 9” alignment pass-rush specialist and, with Kris Kocurek as his coach, I believe he will prove to be one of the steals of the draft. While he’s lean at 6’5, 250, he has more room to put weight on his frame, and you can’t teach his length, bend and athleticism. He’s also no slouch in the run game, so will not have to exclusively be a rotational pass rusher.

He was almost unblockable in Senior Bowl practices, and finished the season strong with a ridiculous 37% pass-rush win rate against Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. While not a perfect prospect, what he does well, he does extremely well. While he may be dinged for his size, his combination of hand usage, technique, bend and explosiveness is not common, and will prove to be a huge boon for the 49ers if they select him. They’ve already had a meeting with him; three of the 49ers’ eight selections last year had pre-draft meetings with the 49ers.

105. Matt Waletzko, OT, North Dakota

It’s been very popular to target a center in the third ground for the 49ers, with Cam Jurgens being a hot name, but I believe Jurgens goes higher than this on draft day. While I would’ve loved to have the opportunity to draft Jurgens, I’m higher on Matt Waletzko as an offensive tackle prospect. Checking in at 6’8″ and 312 pounds, Waletzko is an imposing and athletic tackle with insane length (36+ inch arms!!). In the Senior Bowl, first round prospects such as Boye Mafe and Arnold Ebiketie had some serious duels with him, with Waletzko confounding them in one-on-one situations with his length. 

Waletzko, like Trey Lance, hails from rural Minnesota, and like Lance, was not a highly heralded prospect at the position he played in college. Waletzko raised his profile when he reached the North Dakota campus, starting almost immediately. While there are concerns with his weight, Waletzko played much of his career at 320 and has plenty of room on his frame to add mass with NFL strength and conditioning coaches.

Like Jurgens, while Waletzko may seem raw, rolling the dice with a compensatory third round pick on a prospect with all the tools Waletzko has is something I’m willing to do, especially with Mike McGlinchey entering the final year of his contract. Although pad level tends to be a concern with players the stature of Waletzko, he’s athletic enough to minimize that with great hand usage and knee bend. Players like Waletzko don’t grow on trees, and the growth he’s shown in the past two years shows an ideal trajectory that the 49ers should take advantage of. Per Kent Lee Platte, his Relative Athletic Score places him 7th out of 1,216 OT prospects since 1987. Shanahan wants athletes at tackle, and Waletzko has time to grow into a special player.

134. Markquese Bell, S, Florida A&M

I started looking at safeties in January, and started honing in on Nick Cross, an uber-athletic track star who lays the boom for Maryland. Then I looked at the guy that left Maryland for Florida A&M, Markquese Bell. I still really believe in Cross, but the more I’ve strategized my mocks, the more I believe that Bell might actually be the better player and serve as better value in the fourth round rather than targeting Cross on Day 2 of the draft. 

With prototypical size and length, Bell shows off his track background as a high jumper in testing and on the field. His closing speed is phenomenal, and he does a great job of playing the ball in coverage. I actually believe he’s better in change of direction than Cross, and he is also an absolute enforcer in the run game. A sure tackler, his best role with the 49ers would be playing in the box as a “swiss army knife/positionless” weapon as a hybrid linebacker/safety who can stop the run, drop into coverage or be a heat-seeking missile in blitz packages. Bell would pair incredibly well with Jimmie Ward, and give the 49ers a guy who I believe can step in as a rookie into a starting role. Getting a starter in the fourth round isn’t easy, but I believe Bell can defy the odds.

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172. Danny Gray, WR, SMU

Another guy who has met twice with the 49ers in the pre-draft process, Danny Gray is a player who stole the thunder from his higher-touted teammate, Reggie Roberson, last season. It’s easy to pigeonhole Gray as purely a speedster, but there is so much more to his game than straight-line quicks. Gray is an apt route runner whose speed overshadows his ability to gain yards after the catch, averaging almost 9 yards after the catch per reception. Gray’s quarterback play limited his ability to catch deep passes, but he routinely made his own offense by having a knack to gain separation quickly. 

Gray does lack a strong build, and can struggle with physicality off the line of scrimmage, but he thrives going against man coverage with silky releases and impressive acceleration. Shanahan prioritizes YAC, and has been looking to pair that ability with game-breaking speed; Gray has that in spades, and would be a phenomenal WR3 to complement Deebo and Brandon Aiyuk.

187. Eyioma Uwazurike, DL, Iowa State

The 49ers love adding depth to the defensive line, and Eyioma Uwazurike is a perfect chess piece with excellent athleticism, versatility and value in the sixth round. At 6’6″ and 316 with 35+ inch arms, Uwazurike is a handful for interior lineman as a guy who will thrive as “big end” in the 49ers scheme with the ability to swing inside, as well. While he’s known for his ability to move down the line in his prowess as a run defender, Uwazurike has all the tools to improve as a pocket disruptor under the tutelage of Kocurek, and he already comes in with a pretty good toolbelt.

Uwazurike had a nearly 17% pass rush win rate operating as an end in Iowa State’s 3-4 alignment, far surpassing the pass rush production of more highly touted prospects, helping him earn First Team All Big 12 from Big 12 coaches. While I think he should go higher than this, I would be sprinting to the podium to make this selection if he falls this far.

220. Dawson Deaton, C, Texas Tech

Okay, here’s my dark-horse “sleeper” of the draft that I wouldn’t wait to sign as an undrafted free agent: Dawson Deaton. While I really like Cam Jurgens, I’m baffled as to why Deaton hasn’t received similar love for his very comparable athletic traits. A three-year starter at Texas Tech, Deaton displays phenomenal anchor ability, and really succeeds at moving to the next level picking up multiple defenders. 

Despite his height that seems abnormal for a center, Deaton moves incredibly well in tight spaces and, like Matt Waletzko, utilizes knee bend effectively to compensate. With Alex Mack entering what may be the last year of his career, Deaton would be a phenomenal addition to the 49ers who can also play guard, giving the 49ers versatility if/when players go down in-season. I would have no problem drafting Deaton a little bit higher, but if plans fall through to address center early in the draft, Deaton is a more than satisfactory consolation prize.

221. Ty Chandler, RB, North Carolina

I was the hype man for the Elijah Mitchell Fan Club while covering the first week of training camp for Niner Noise last summer, so why draft another running back? Is it a “need?” Running back is always a need for Kyle Shanahan, and Ty Chandler would give Shanahan another explosive, one-cut back for his heavily zone-based scheme that will keep Mitchell’s legs fresh next season.

With ridiculously hard acts to follow from the likes of current NFL standouts Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, Chandler transferred from Tennessee last season and broke out in his senior year, averaging 6 yards per carry while averaging an excellent 3.86 yards after contact per attempt. He also has great pass catching chops; while catching only 14 balls last year, he averaged 15 yards per catch. Even with taking a long touchdown out of the equation, he still averaged 11 yards per catch. I fully expect him to be a more prolific pass catcher at the next level. Couple that with decisiveness and true game speed that matches his testing numbers (4.38 forty with 1.52 10-yard split), Chandler could prove to be another sixth round running back steal for the 49ers.

262. Jack Jones, CB, Arizona State

I’ve been a draft junkie since I was in middle school, so yes, I watch almost every minute of the NFL Scouting Combine. Although I don’t base my opinions purely on the “eye test,” for the 49ers’ 4th “Mr. Irrelevant” selection in the history of the franchise (Tim Washington, Donald Chumley and Sam Manuel), I’m going with my gut from a guy I hadn’t watched during his career, but really popped off the screen to me in drills and workouts. And that’s Jack Jones.

Jones has had a circuitous route in his draft process, to say the least. A five star recruit from Long Beach, Jones announced his commitment to USC with Snoop Dogg and had allegedly run a 4.28 forty in high school. He was ranked as high as the 22nd best player (not just cornerback) in the country, and was looked at as a can’t-miss prospect.

Two years later, however, he was charged with a felony for burglary, which was reduced to a misdemeanor. After taking a year away at the JUCO level, Jones transferred to Arizona State and tried to refurbish his image and his game. Despite taking efforts to improve as a person off the field, there are understandably still doubts about taking risks on a player who potentially has “character red flags.” 

On top of that, Jones is 5’11” and 171, so while not short, he’s not big, either. He didn’t run a blazing forty at the Combine that matched his high school recruiting hype, but he stood out in drills to me. Great concentration, change of direction and looked fluid in everything he did. There are a lot of scouts who view him as a legit outside cover corner, and that’s what he did at Arizona State and USC. I think he has the ability to add muscle and also slide inside and have success in the slot. All things considered, I think Jones would buck the trend of previous 49ers’ Mr. Irrelevant draftees, and finagle a slot on the 53 man roster. If he did, he’d have to play just two games to surpass the combined number of games played by the previous three…one game!

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