All 49ers

49ers Pick Offensive Tackle in Way-Too-Early 2026 NFL Mock Draft

The 2026 NFL Draft is roughly 360 days away. What better time to do a mock draft?
Grant Cohn|
Iowa’s offensive lineman Gennings Dunker speaks to the media Tuesday, July 16, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa’s offensive lineman Gennings Dunker speaks to the media Tuesday, July 16, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

In this story:

San Francisco 49ers

The 2026 NFL Draft is roughly 360 days away. What better time to do a mock draft?

Thankfully, our friends at Pro Football Focus are way ahead of us. They recently did a way-too-early 2026 NFL Mock Draft. And in it, the 49ers take Iowa offensive tackle Gennings Dunker in Round 1 with pick no. 29 (apparently PFF expects the 49ers to lose in the NFC Championship).

"The 49ers didn’t address their glaring need along the offensive line until the seventh round, when they selected Iowa’s Connor Colby," writes PFF. "San Francisco takes his college teammate here in Dunker, who is a perfect fit in Kyle Shanahan’s outside-zone heavy offense.

"Iowa’s right tackle earned a 90.2 PFF run-blocking grade this past season, second only to Spencer Fano among FBS tackles. His 90.2 PFF overall grade placed fifth in the nation, as well. Dunker is a powerful player with the leg drive to pancake defenders."

If the 49ers are looking to replace right tackle Colton McKivitz next year, then Dunker would be a terrific pick. But if the 49ers need to replace Trent Williams, then they'll need to draft someone who can play left tackle, not just on the right side.

Ideally, this was the year to take an offensive tackle because the 49ers were picking in the top 11. Next year, the 49ers might be picking near the bottom of Round 1, and most left tackles get picked in the top 10. This year, three got picked in the top 9.

Oh well. At least the 49ers sign D.J. Humphries.

Read more

Published
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.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News