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Why the 49ers Drafted Junior Bergen in Round 7

Technically, the 49ers list Junior Bergen as a wide receiver, but that's not why they drafted him in Round 7.
Grant Cohn|
Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Technically, the 49ers list Junior Bergen as a wide receiver, but that's not why they drafted him in Round 7.

If Bergen makes the 49ers' 53-man roster this year, he'll make it as their primary return specialist. Bergen is one of the best returners in FCS history. He returned 8 punts for touchdowns during his collegiate career and averaged a whopping 16.71 yards per punt return.

After the draft, general manager John Lynch explained what the 49ers like about this small-school prospect.

"Our special teams guys, they both have some Montana roots," Lynch said, "and I think this guy's kind of become this sensation. And they kept talking about Brant Boyer and Colt Anderson kept talking about this kid from Montana and really selling him to us. And they did a really good job. And ultimately at the end it's like, are we going to have a chance at free agency if we don't draft them? Is someone else going to draft them right at the end?

"And so ultimately, I do think and believe that there's added value in returners with the adjustment to the kickoff and the touchbacks coming all the way out to the 35. Probably people are going to be less inclined to just kick it through the endzone, more return opportunities. So, to have a dynamic returner is probably a good thing. And he'll go in there and compete and he's done it really well at the smaller college level. And now he's going to get an opportunity to do it with us.”

Bergen is 5'10", 184 pounds and he was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. At his Pro Day, he ran a 4.56, which isn't particularly fast for a smaller return man. But he's extremely quick and agile and he has a great feel for returning kicks. We'll see if he's good enough to make the team.

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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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