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49ers Climb 3 Spots to No. 15 in Post-Draft NFL Power Rankings

Not everyone hates the 49ers' draft.

Grant Cohn

December 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates with tight end George Kittle (85) after scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
December 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates with tight end George Kittle (85) after scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Not everyone hates the 49ers' draft.

Sure, they didn't address their biggest weakness on offense -- the line -- until pick No. 249. But they added five to six starters to a defense that desperately needed an infusion of youth.

That's why the 49ers climbed three spots from no. 18 to no. 15 in the latest post-draft power rankings from NFL.com's Eric Edholm.

"The 49ers used their first five picks on defense before finally pivoting to the offensive side on Day 3," writes Edholm. "It was not a shocking approach for a team whose depth chart felt pretty lean after the roster was raided in free agency. Mykel Williams could be a terrific pick in time, and I like Alfred Collins and CJ West to earn snaps inside. We'll see if the Niners plugged enough holes this offseason, but they allocated their resources well, I think.

"Brock Purdy's extension feels like the next order of business, but San Francisco also has to take care of George Kittle. I know people are a little down on the 49ers, relatively speaking, but remember the last time they fell off, with a 6-10 season in 2020? They followed that up with three straight NFC Championship Game appearances. I'm counting on this team competing again under Kyle Shanahan."

Edholm makes a good point about the 49ers bouncing back the last time they missed the playoffs. But that was four years ago, and the core of the 49ers' team is much older now. They definitely added lots of young players in this draft, but they're still relying on Trent Williams, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk to stay healthy and produce at a high level.

All things considered, 15th seems appropriate.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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