The 49ers have all but one of their draft picks signed, with Alfred Collins’ contract proving more difficult than expected.
With training camp fast approaching, the 49ers are in a rare position of having no significant contract dramas to resolve. However, there is still an underrated issue they are facing with one of their most important picks from this year’s draft.
The 49ers have just one draft pick who remains unsigned to his rookie contract, and that is defensive tackle Alfred Collins, whom they selected in the second round.
Collins is expected to have a significant role in his rookie season. He is likely to start and will be under pressure to quickly make an impression in the pros, not just as a high-floor run defender, but as a player who can unlock the untapped pass rush potential the 49ers believe he has.
But, before he can do that, the 49ers need to sign him to a deal, and that might be easier said than done.
Only two of the 32 second-round picks from this year’s draft have signed their rookie contracts. The reason for that low number at this relatively late point in the calendar is linked to the fact that Jayden Higgins and Carson Schwesinger — the two second-round picks to have signed contracts — inked fully guaranteed deals.
That is a distinction normally reserved for first-round picks. Schwesinger was taken 33rd overall, the first pick of the second round, by the Cleveland Browns, while Higgins was the first selection of the Houston Texans’ draft after they traded out of the first round.
Higgins being Houston’s first pick might have factored into the Texans giving him a fully guaranteed deal, but that decision and the move by Browns to do the same with Schwesinger has complicated matters for the rest of the league.
As such, the 49ers now face a decision over Collins. There may be a reticence to sign a player who sat out OTAs and minicamp with a reaggravation of a calf injury to a fully guaranteed deal. However, after that absence, the 49ers undoubtedly need to get Collins on the field for training camp practices. That won’t happen without a deal.
Given his importance to their 2025 fortunes, it could end up being the case that the 49ers have to blink and bow to Collins’ demands and give him a fully guaranteed deal. They have a few more weeks to find a resolution that suits both parties.