All Eyes are on This Rookie UDFA During 49ers OTAs

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All Eyes are on This Rookie UDFA During 49ers OTAs

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated May 28, 2026 1:00 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers should get familiar with the name Bryson Eason. The rookie UDFA from Tennessee has the best chance to make the 49ers roster, according to Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report.

San Francisco 49ers rookie UDFA Bryson Eason can make the 53-man roster

Eason was invited to the NFL combine, so there was obviously NFL interest in him before the draft. He did not have a poor showing at the combine, and most NFL experts saw him as a sixth or seventh-round pick. So, it makes sense why he is one of the UDFAs on the 49ers getting a lot of attention heading into the OTA sessions.

Beyond that, the 49ers' defensive line depth chart is not the deepest with legitimate talent. The team traded for Osa Odighizuwa and drafted Alfred Collins, CJ West, and Gracen Halton over the past two seasons. Those names will be tough to unseat as a rookie UDFA. However, the fifth spot on the defensive rotation is wide open.

On the flip side, teams got to work him out and talk to him at the combine and came away with the thought of passing on him in every round. While the fifth defensive line spot is up for grabs currently, there is no lock that the fifth man will even make the roster.

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In most cases, the 49ers will carry four, and the fifth has to excel on special teams to avoid heading to the practice squad. Eason has shown nothing on special teams yet.

Lastly, while the fifth spot is wide open, there are also a lot of names competing for it. Evan Anderson is a former UDFA, but he has been with the team for two seasons, so it is not like he is going to quickly bow out of a competition. Beyond that, Sebastian Valdez made noise as a rookie UDFA last year.

49ers fans were wondering how they could sneak him onto the practice squad, and now he is back to compete with Eason. The 49ers also signed James Thompson Jr. as a rookie UDFA. Thompson was also an NFL combine invite, and he flashed just as much as Eason in the pre-draft process.

So, any of those four could step into the fifth interior defensive lineman spot ahead of Eason. He is a player to keep an eye on, but his path to the roster is not as easy as it appears.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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