2 top-tier athletic options in the first 2 rounds for the 49ers at EDGE

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 01: Illinois Fighting Illini OLB Gabe Jacas (17) during a college football game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Illinois Fighting Illini on November 1, 2025 at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The San Francisco 49ers are penciled in to select an edge rusher, or add one via trade , at some point during draft weekend. When you’re picking at the tail end of the first round, the odds of you landing an impact player on the EDGE are slim. That’s not an opinion.

That’s based on history. In recent history, you’re looking at T. J.

Watt in 2017, Chandler Jones in 2012, and Clay Matthews in 2009 as the “stars. ” Realistically, recent history is a better example of the type of player you’re getting at the end of the first round. Names like Jermaine Johnson, George Karlaftis, Myles Murphy, Nolan Smith, Chop Robinson, Felix Anuduike-Uzomah, and Darius Robinson make up the edge rushers from the previous three classes selected in the 20s in the past three classes.

Today, we’ll run through options for the Niners at edge rusher at each pick, but with a twist. We’ve looked at the EDGE players, the defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, drafted during his time with the Falcons and the Rams. That gives us a baseline to work with.