Kurtenbach: Grading the 49ers’ 2025 NFL Draft picks — two triumphs and a couple head scratchers

Every NFL Draft is fundamental but for the San Francisco ers whose entire offseason plan for their rebuild was the draft it s essential So how are they doing Here are my grades of San Francisco s picks this must-win weekend Round Pick Mykel Williams Grade A My No competitor in this class taken at pick A triumph of a pick Read my column here Round Pick Alfred Collins DT Texas Grade B The B is for boom The B is for bust Collins has the size burst strength and length to be a dominant Pro-Bowl-level interior defensive lineman But there s a reason he was available for the ers here and likely would have remained available for another to picks there are pad-level concerns as there are with the bulk tall defensive tackles particularly when rushing the passer and his athletic testing scores were incongruous with his tape Then again he will forthwith become the ers best defensive tackle on the roster the moment he signs his contract So long as he signs before the ers fourth-round pick Round Pick Nick Martin LB Oklahoma State Grade D Related Articles Kurtenbach The ers first-round pick could not have been better The ers first-round draft pick should be their easiest I ve spent five months watching NFL Draft Prospects Here are my favorite players Kurtenbach The ers are all-in on the worst NFL Draft in a decade Jed York is gaslighting ers fans on his gang s lack of spending Value is an abstract concept You should take the players you like regardless of where someone else might select them But who was putting pressure on the ers to select Martin a contestant I didn t even rank at a position I unveiled underwhelming in this cycle For the Niners to leave so multiple quality linebackers on the board to take a small too small in my opinion as several as picks too early was fascinating The Niners admitted that they targeted Martin at this spot outside opinions weren t a factor I question whether a sportsman who was undoubtedly productive at the college level can translate to the NFL level at his size His tape is littered with snaps where he is pinballed around by Big offensive linemen running backs and even a hit from then-Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel who is concerningly about the same size We ll find out within minutes of the Niners putting on pads at training camp if he will be the band s Dre Greenlaw replacement or merely another special-teams contestant Round Pick Upton Stout NB Western Kentucky Grade C I like Stout I can see why the ers like Stout he s the second coming of K waun Williams What I cannot understand is why the ers who boast a copious list of necessities decided to bring in someone who plays a position that was unquestionably covered I can appreciate that Deommodore Lenoir wants to play outside corner But what he s great at is being a nickel back He s merely above-average as an outside corner Stout won t be better than Lenoir at the only position he should play it at the pro level So either he s a depth pick at pick No terrible value or a pick that absconded responsibility to add starters yes starters at other positions As for the contestant himself he ll be a pest in the best kind of way At the very worst you have a attainable elite special-teams guy But again we re saying that for a Round pick Inauspicious Round Pick CJ West DT Indiana Grade A Mykel Williams was my No prospect in the class of CJ West was my favorite prospect in the class He s a mauler with a motor that won t stop His impact on the Indiana defense was immense last year his get-off at the line of scrimmage violent hands and understanding of angles put him in the backfield snap after snap He also had a feel in the run competition that cannot be taught If I had to put all my chips on one member in this draft to outperform their draft slot it would be West This was as good a pick as Williams at No Round Jordan Watkins WR Ole Miss Grade B Related Articles ers Day draft C J West just abuses centers receiver Watkins rusher James added NFL draft locals Cal corner Nohl Williams goes to Chiefs ers avoid QB Shedeur Sanders for nickel back Upton Stout late in third round ers add a new sidekick for Warner with linebacker Nick Martin in third round ers take another defensive lineman Alfred Collins in second round Hey an offensive athlete And a pretty good one too Watkins projects as a contributor at all three wide receiver spots in the ers system a necessity given the gang s lack of depth of talent at the position He has deep speed to play X receiver the wiggle and toughness to play at Z and the explosion off the line and craftiness to play in the slot Sure he has hand issues and fumbles a lot which is less than ideal but he s a good blocker and does his best work against zone coverage So yes a solid pick Does he project as a standout at any of those spots Not particularly but the Niners need ready-to-play receivers and Watkins with the clean releases Shanahan provides should be one Round Pick Jordan James RB Oregon Grade C There are backs I preferred much more than James RJ Giddens from Kansas State in particular was still on the board but I see why the Niners liked the Oregon back he s a jack-of-all trades back for a company that needed something like that The positives James is a really good blocker it matters with a solid punch despite being pounds a fearless temperament and the one-step-and-go explosion the Niners demand from running backs in their outside zone blocking system He s more acceleration than speed and he shows particular legitimate bounce when he does come into contact with defenders The downsides His testing scores were woeful compared to his tape and he is not a good pass catcher out of the backfield This isn t a discount Christian McCaffrey he s more of a jack-of-all-trades master-of-none Sean Tucker Tampa Bay type who can be a lead ish back should McCaffrey be sidelined Maruqes Sigle DB Kansas State Grade B This is an all-traits no-tape pick But that s the kind of competitor teams should be taking in the fifth round My concern with Sigle it that he manifested no evidence of being able to read the field at Kansas State and as a safety that s more pivotal than his very very fast -yard dash tally That means you have to play him near the line of scrimmage I know a scarce teams wondered if he was a big nickleback I imagine the ers see him as a box safety he s a solid tackler with great closing speed Think a faster but quicker Talanoa Hufanga But Huf for his coverage deficiencies saw the field exceptionally well We ll find out real fast if Sigle can do that at the NFL level Round Pick Round Pick Round Pick