49ers land offensive playmaker in Todd McShay's newest mock draft

49ers land offensive playmaker in Todd McShay's newest mock draft

The San Francisco 49ers will need to hit on draft picks if they want to remain competitive in the daunting NFC West. The team was decimated by injuries in 2025 but still made the postseason, but now has to replace some big names that either left in free agency or at still recovering from injuries.

The decision between going offense or defense with the No. 27 pick will be a big one for the 49ers in April's draft, but The Ringer's Todd McShay predicts San Francisco goes with a new weapon for quarterback Brock Purdy with the pick. He mocked Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq with the first-round selection for the 49ers.

With so many edge rushers, receivers, and offensive tackles coming off the board, Sadiq slides further than expected into the back half of the first round. There are several spots where he could realistically land—including the Rams at 13, Buccaneers at 15, and Eagles at 23—but it didn’t break that way in this exercise. That leaves San Francisco at no. 27 as a logical landing spot, given the importance of the tight end in Kyle Shanahan’s system and the severity and timing of George Kittle’s injury.

Sadiq is still developing as a route runner, and his production at Oregon was somewhat inconsistent. However, his speed-explosion profile is outstanding (4.39 40, 43.5-inch vertical, 11-foot broad), and he projects as a big-play chess piece that Shanahan could maximize. He also brings value as a powerful, physical blocker with a noticeable mean streak.

This would be a coup for San Francisco. Not only would Sadiq give Purdy another pass-catcher alongside Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, Ricky Pearsall and Christian McCaffrey, but he'll fill in nicely for the injured George Kittle alongside fellow backup tight end Jake Tongest.

Sadiq caught 80 passes for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns over the past three seasons at Oregon. He also stands at an immense 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein even compared him to Arizona Cardinals star tight end Trey McBride.

A versatile tight end with a shredded physique and alluring potential as a volume target, Sadiq’s route tree will be full of branches. His athleticism and break quickness should allow him to uncover against man coverage on all three levels. He’s talented after the catch, with the ability to make things easier for play-callers and quarterbacks looking to move the sticks. He has the body control and hand strength to win contested catches but will occasionally allow balls to hit the ground on lower-difficulty plays. He’s adequate as a blocker, giving good effort in-line and locating and landing on linebackers as a move blocker. Teams looking to diversify their passing game options with a talented pass-catching tight end could make Sadiq a priority.

The 49ers could do worse with the pick than taking the talented Sadiq, despite other issues at edge rusher and offensive line that will need to be addressed.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL draft: 49ers land playmaker in Todd McShay's newest mock