ESPN believes the 49ers “farm system” is dry, and they need to develop some of their young talent moving forward.
Some fans believe the San Francisco 49ers are still paying for the lack of picks from the trades of Trey Lance and Christian McCaffrey. Those top and middle round picks have left the depth on the roster somewhat depleted.
The 49ers have attempted to replenish those picks by signing free agents. Those decisions haven’t worked out as planned. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz did an exercise where he ranked every NFL team’s talent under 25. Unsurprisingly, the 49ers did not rank highly. However, would you have guessed San Francisco ranked in the bottom three?
2024 ranking: 23
Blue-chip players: None
Notable graduated players: QB Brock Purdy, G Dominick Puni, SS Ji’Ayir Brown
Purdy no longer counts as talent under 25, but the 49ers still have some younger starters. Safety Malik Mustapha, 23, started 12 games in 2024. Linebacker Dee Winters is 24 and started 10 games. Cornerback Renardo Green and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall — both expected starters in 2025 — are 24.
Second-round rookie defensive tackle Alfred Collins is 23, and the youngest of the 49ers is their first-round pick, edge rusher Mykel Williams. He turned 21 in late June.
As the author points out, the 49ers get hosed here since they didn’t draft inexperience in last year’s draft. It’s fair to be cautiously optimistic about the 2025 draft class. Williams and Collins have the talent to become blue-chip players, but they’ll have to become “elite” in a hurry.
The 49ers have other young players, but they are mostly unknown. The team is expecting some level of productivity from Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, Jordan James, Upton Stout, Nick Martin, and C.J. West. Outside of that group, we’re grasping at straws, as even the names mentioned haven’t done much of anything as a pro…yet.
Do you think the 49ers should be ranked 30th in this exercise? Perhaps a better question is, why are they ranked so low compared to other teams? Scroll down and let us know in the comments.