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Which 49ers UDFA is Most Likely to Make the 53-Man Roster?

Let's go through all six.
Cincinnati Bearcats running back Corey Kiner (21) runs to the 1-yard line in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between Cincinnati Bearcats and TCU Horned Frogs at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.
Cincinnati Bearcats running back Corey Kiner (21) runs to the 1-yard line in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between Cincinnati Bearcats and TCU Horned Frogs at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Undrafted rookie free agents make the 49ers 53-man roster every year.

Jordan Mason was an undrafted free agent. So were Azeez Al-Shaair and Emmanuel Moseley. This year, the 49ers signed six UDFAs. Which one is most likely to make the team? Let's go through all six.

1. Wide receiver Isaiah Neyor. He's 6'4", 218 pounds and he was invited to the Combine where he ran a 4.4 and posted a 38-inch vertical leap. CBS Sports ranked him 170th overall meaning they expected him to get drafted in Round 5. But in five years of college, he caught just 87 passes, so he could be a bit of a project. Still, don't be surprised if he makes the 53-man roster at some point in his career -- maybe just not right away.

2. Cornerback Jakob Robinson. He was not invited to the Combine and he weighs just 181 pounds, so he might need to get stronger. But he moves extremely well, he intercepted 11 passes in college and he was a captain. He's another player who could make the 53-man roster down the line.

3. Defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez. The 49ers drafted two defensive tackles this year, so they probably won't give a 53-man roster spot to a third rookie defensive tackle. But if a player were to get injured, Valdez could get promoted.

4. Linebacker Stone Blanton. A productive college linebacker who was not invited to the NFL Combine. He still has a chance to beat out Tatum Bethune as the backup middle linebacker behind Fred Warner.

5. Guard Drew Moss. He will compete with seventh-round pick Connor Colby for a roster spot. Colby is bigger than Moss, but Moss moves better than Colby. This competition could get either way.

6. Running back Corey Kiner. He was invited to the Combine and was projected by CBS Sports to get drafted in Round 5 because he was so productive in college. Now, he will compete with Patrick Taylor Jr. for a roster spot. If Kiner outperforms Taylor Jr. in training camp and preseason, Kiner will make the team. He has the best shot to make it out of all the undrafted free agents.

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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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