The 49ers have a unique approach to the draft.
The San Francisco 49ers selected 11 players last weekend in their 2025 NFL Draft, setting the tone for their 2025 season, where younger players are expected to receive more playing time in a crucial year for the franchise.
Unsurprisingly, the 49ers had a defense-centric approach, as their first five players selected were all on that side of the ball, fueling newly-hired defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s attack in his first year back with the franchise.
Over the past seven years, San Francisco has done their part to build via the draft, nabbing players like linebacker Fred Warner, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and others beyond the first few rounds of the NFL Draft.
What is the difference between the 49ers’ draft process and other organizations? Earlier this week, Saleh shed light on that process, pointing out one specific aspect that has been different in San Francisco.
“This organization, and no pun intended, [is] the gold standard with regard to collaboration and communication,” Saleh said. “Most buildings maybe spend a week in terms of communication between the scouting department and coaching staff with regards to the draft.
“This organization will spend three to four weeks just grinding on tape, offense, defense, special teams, and going deep into the seventh-round, undrafted-free-agent type players, and I think that’s why this organization has had so much success finding Day 3 picks that come to fruition, and even undrafted free agents that end up having success in this league.
“When it comes to finding players, this organization does a phenomenal job with collaboration. And let’s be very real, there’s still a process that needs to be followed. The board fell our way from a defensive standpoint.”
That has been seen throughout the last few years, as the 49ers have also found some hidden gems with undrafted free agents in addition to their draft classes.
With the way San Francisco approached its 2025 NFL Draft, many believed Saleh had a big influence on the class. While the defensive coordinator didn’t shy away from that acknowledgement, he still pointed out the collaborative effort in selecting players.
“I was standing in the back of the room like, ‘Hey, I got a guy,’” Saleh continued. “It happened the way it happened, but there was tremendous collaboration through the process. It’s always been this way here. Kyle and John do an unbelievable job. You’d be hard pressed to find people who do it as good as they do.”
“There’s a lot of empathy for what happened to the group last year. There was a lot of things that, through the halfway point, this defense was playing some really good football, and there were a lot of injuries, and the wheels kind of fell off during the last four weeks of the season. So, for the coaching staff and the players, there’s a lot of empathy in terms of like, ‘Man, you’re doing your best, [but] it just didn’t work out.’”
San Francisco needs a major step up from their defense in 2025. With Saleh back in the fold and a defense-heavy draft, they may be on their way to figuring things out on that side of the ball and returning to contention.