3 Overreactions to the San Francisco 49ers' 2024 NFL Draft class

The San Francisco 49ers might not have gone in the directions many anticipated with their selections in the 2024 NFL Draft, but there's no denying the team got better in several areas.

San Francisco's passing game is much better set up to thrive against man coverage after struggling against it in the Super Bowl following the first-round pick of Florida wideout Ricky Pearsall and the fourth-round selection of Arizona receiver Jacob Cowing.

They have better depth in the secondary after adding Florida State corner Renardo Green in the second round and Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha in the fourth and, while the tackle position was confusingly neglected, the interior offensive line looks stronger after the third-round pick of Dominick Puni and the sixth-round selection of Jarrett Kingston.

The running game got even more explosive with the traditional 49ers trade up for a tailback, which saw them take Isaac Guerendo in the fourth.

It's a class that will play a defining role in the next phase of the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era, but what can we immediately glean from it? Here I offer three instant overreactions.

1. Deebo Samuel will have a statistically disappointing final 49ers season

Now I'm not saying Samuel will be bad in 2024, I am saying that he is categorically not in a strong position to excel statistically in what many anticipate will be his final season with the 49ers. 

Samuel is an obvious trade candidate in 2025 with the 49ers set to pay Brandon Aiyuk this offseason, with the selections of Pearsall and Cowing only likely to increase talk of Samuel going elsewhere next year.

Last season, Samuel was Brock Purdy's third favorite target behind Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle. He was thrown to 89 times in a regular season in which he missed two games.

Samuel has never completed a full regular season in his NFL career, with the durability issues limiting his statistical upside. Now he has more company in the receiver room in Pearsall and Cowing.

With Pearsall's ability to consistently separate through a combination of his quickness and route-running detail, he figures to become a favorite of Purdy and eat significantly into Samuel's targets, setting the 2019 second-round pick up to potentially play what could be his last year with the Niners on a statistical low.

2. Yetur Gross-Matos will have 10 sacks

I wrote regularly in the pre-draft process that the 49ers appeared to be focusing on adding a defensive line prospect who could help fill the void Charles Omenihu left last offseason when he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs having excelled with his inside-out versatility for the Niners in 2021 and 2022.

The 49ers signed Gross-Matos in free agency with an eye towards him playing that role, but their interest in versatile prospects such as Brandon Dorlus and Marshawn Kneeland indicated they wanted another player who could play the edge on base downs and kick inside on pass-rushing downs.

But the 49ers did not draft a defensive lineman of any kind, meaning Gross-Matos is the man who will be expected to play the Omenihu role. 

Gross-Matos is a long and explosive athlete who has yet to realize his potential in the pros. However, he had 4.5 sacks last season playing for a dismal Carolina Panthers team while only starting in 12 games. 

Now with the chance to play a featured role on a 49er defensive front loaded with talent, Gross-Matos can finally make the leap and prove the latest beneficiary of defensive line coach Kris Kocurek's pass rusher rehabilitation program.

3. Talanoa Hufanga is on borrowed time

The selection of Mustapha has given the 49ers some insurance at the safety position for this season, one 2022 All-Pro Hufanga enters on the back of a torn ACL suffered in Week 11 last season.

However, John Lynch's comments on Mustapha following the end of the draft suggest that, long term, he has the chance to be a successor to Hufanga, who is a free agent in 2025.

"With him it was clear right away, all his testing indicated it, but when you talk with the young man he understands football at a high level," said Lynch. "He's built like an adonis and he just plays football the right way in our mind and it's really cool to make him part of our team. We liked everything he brought to the table."

Of course, Mustapha now has to prove that he can translate everything he displayed at the collegiate level to the pros. Yet the aspects of the game for which Mustapha has received praise, namely his tackling and his instincts, may give Hufanga reason to worry about his long-term status with the team.

Hufanga does not have bad instincts and clearly understands the game well having consistently made game-changing plays from the safety position. However, he has also been criticized in years gone by for being overaggressive and paying the price by giving up the big play. Additionally, Hufanga's tackling has often proved hit and miss.

There is no guarantee Hufanga will be ready and back to his best to start the 2024 season. If Mustapha is able to impress and earn himself some defensive snaps as a rookie, that could be a precursor to him ascending to a starting role in 2025 and the 49ers moving from Hufanga in an offseason in which they will need to pay Purdy very handsomely.