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This Dream Scenario is Too Good to be True for the 49ers

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated Apr 8, 2026 11:00 AM ET

There has been a debate about what the San Francisco 49ers should do with the 27th overall and whether they should get a player who can help now, or potentially replace their core pieces. One selection that they could make that would be on path of replacing a current starter that almost no one could complain about is drafting left tackle Monroe Freeling from Georgia. Is this a dream or a potential real outcome?

Monroe Freeling to the San Francisco 49ers is a dream scenario

Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report went though the dream scenarios for every NFL team. For the 49ers, he went with Freeling potentially dropping.

The Monroe Freeling hype doesn't turn him into a top-20 pick and the Niners are able to get him at No. 27. They are the perfect landing spot as they could mold him into the long-term Trent Williams replacementAlex Ballentine

The case against left tackle is that a lot of the high upside swings at the position will be gone by pick 27. So, the team is not quite taking a high upside shot and they are still taking a player who has to sit a year behind Trent Williams.

Freeling is no sure thing, which is why there is even a discussion of him being on the board here. When it comes to his physical traits, he is everything you could want in an offensive lineman. His physical skillset is reminiscent of Kolton Miller.

Miller came into the NFL just as raw, went in the middle of round one, and became an elite left tackle. Sometimes, you swing on the traits. The only knock on Freeling is that he is inexperienced. He could get a lot of playing for Trent Williams during the offseason and preseason and when Williams gets hurt, they could turn to Freeling.

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Then, when Williams moves on, they have the best possible option to replace him. The issue is how much of a dream this scenario is. Some mock drafts have Freeling going as high as the sixth overall pick, and his average mock draft position is 12th.

According to Underdog, there is just a 1% chance that Freeling falls. So, even the fans who do not want them to take a project who has to sit a year would likely agree that he is the best player and they had to take him, the issue is that this seems unlikely.

Freeling was once considered to go in this range before his NFL combine appearance, so maybe teams do just forget about his athletic talents and lean on the inexperience. That is the only way the 49ers could find Freeling in round one.

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

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