5 49ers Players Who Just Dodged a Major Draft-Day Bullet

The NFL draft always impacts the players that are drafted, but the players in the league are also impacted by the draft picks. Who are some of the players who saw the biggest wins in their personal careers during the draft?

Robert Jones

Two months ago, nobody in San Francisco knew who Robert Jones was. Now, he is on track to start for the 49ers at left guard. Jones missed all of 2025 with a neck injury, but his career was trending up before that. He is the favorite to beat Connor Colby and start at left guard, but John Lynch mentioned that competition would be coming in the draft.

An early pick would have started over him, and they had a chance to take Chase Bisontis, but passed. They did take Carver Willis in the fourth round and Enrique Cruz in the fifth round. While one of them could beat out Jones, the competition could have been much stronger than it is.

Luke Farrell

George Kittle is expected to miss a couple of games to start the season. Jake Tonges will take over for him for the most part, but the team is not nearly as good a rushing offense when Kittle is gone. That is because Farrell is supposed to pick up the slack as a blocker, and Tonges can pick up the slack as a receiver. Tonges has done his part, but Farrell has not. So, there was a chance that a draft pick would be invested in replacing Farrell.

By not taking anyone, it is a sign that Farrell has a good shot at earning that role again. UDFA Khalil Dinkins is his competition.

Ji'Ayir Brown

The 49ers have brought in competition for Brown in all three of his NFL seasons. However, this year he looks to be a starter without competition. The 49ers passed on Emmanuel McNeil-Warren a couple of times, which speaks to what they feel about Brown. Perhaps an extension is also coming.

Marques Sigle

By not taking a safety, it ensures that Sigle will be involved as well. San Francisco will need him for dime looks and as a special teams option. Unless they bring someone in, he is the third safety, which is not a bad outcome for a second-year sixth-round pick.

Dee Winters

This was a win for the 49ers as well. Winters was going to be buried on the depth chart and leave in free agency. Now, he gets to start, and the 49ers got a pick that helped them eventually get Romello Height and Gracen Halton. It is a win for both sides.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as 5 49ers Players Who Just Dodged a Major Draft-Day Bullet.

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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM.