49ers Passing on Drafting This Player Will Come to Haunt Them

If only the 49ers had drafted this player.

Oct 4, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs safety Bud Clark (21) breaks up the pass to Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Joseph Williams (8) during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

If there’s one move in the NFL draft that the San Francisco 49ers will regret not making, it’s drafting a safety. They had a glaring need at safety heading into the draft.

Ji’Ayir Brown is as average as can be and is playing in the last year of his deal. Malik Mustapha regressed last season and plays better in the box.

Marques Sigle flashed at times but doesn’t know how to defend in the final sequences when he’s targeted in pass coverage. Drafting a safety should’ve happened for the 49ers.

The best time for them to have taken one was when they were supposed to pick at No. 58 overall. And the player they should’ve taken there is TCU’s Bud Clark.

Instead, they traded down with the Cleveland Browns. That allowed Clark to be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 64 overall pick. Passing on drafting Clark will possibly come to haunt the 49ers.

Why it will haunt them 

Nov 8, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs cornerback Vernon Glover (26) breaks up a pass intended for Iowa State Cyclones tight end Benjamin Brahmer (18) during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. TCU Horned Frogs safety Bud Clark (not pictured) makes the interception off the rebound. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

If the Seahawks like Clark, it’s very likely he'll pan out. General manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald have a keen eye for defensive talent.

When they take a defensive player, it’s significant. Clark is more likely than not to develop into a quality starter, which the 49ers desperately need at safety.

Not only is passing on a safety sting, but the fact that Clark went to the Seahawks, a strong divisional rival, will haunt the 49ers. They will have to face him twice a year.

And if he does turn into that quality starter, it will be a terrible missed opportunity for the 49ers. Instead of them having Clark, they allowed the Seahawks, of all teams, to land him. 

Now, the 49ers did pass on another safety when they traded down from pick 58. The Brown selected Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren there, whom I advocated for as an option at safety for the 49ers.

Oct 4, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs safety Bud Clark (21) breaks up the pass to Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Joseph Williams (8) during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

If McNeil-Warren pans out, that’s a bummer for the 49ers as well. However, the 49ers don’t have to see the Browns and McNeil-Warren two times a year.

The Browns aren’t a team the 49ers need to compete with. The Seahawks are. Passing on McNeil-Warren won’t haunt them. Passing on Clark, however, has the chance to do that. 

He would've been an excellent fit for the 49ers and instantly been their best pass-coverage safety. Clark has solid range playing high up, which is what the 49ers needed.

This is the equivalent of an offense turning the ball over in the red zone with the defense taking it back for a score or putting their own offense in scoring position. It’s a double whammy.

A mistake like that in a game haunts a team. That’s exactly what can happen to the 49ers after they passed on Clark for the Seahawks to get him. And I believe it will. 

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