Evan Silva projected Armand Membou to San Francisco at No. 11, calling it a "slam‑the‑card" scenario after the Missouri tackle’s unexpected slide. The 49ers lost LG Aaron Banks in free agency and have 36‑year‑old Trent Williams entering his contract’s final guaranteed year. Membou posted a 9.55 Relative Athletic Score, allowed just one sack on 612 pass‑block snaps, and took 30% of practice reps at guard at Missouri, giving Kyle Shanahan an immediate interior starter with long‑term blind‑side upside. Silva advises betting Membou under 14.5 draft position and notes the pick raises the floor for Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy in early best‑ball drafts.

Jones projected Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolan to San Francisco at No. 11 despite whispers about maturity concerns. Ryan Wilson compared Nolan’s first‑step explosiveness to current 49er Javon Hargrave and said the tape justifies a mid‑Round‑1 grade: a 14.3% pressure rate and 8 run‑stops per game last season. The Niners fielded the league’s 29th best pass‑rush win rate from interior defenders in 2024, so Nolan’s ability to collapse pockets immediately fills a glaring roster gap. Jones believes the locker‑room culture can handle a young personality and noted that teams picking 12‑16 all brought Nolan in for 30 visits, so his draft prop of 17.5 is too high.

Thor Nystrom slotted Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks to San Francisco at pick 11 and said Banks “is going higher than people think,” placing his draft‑slot Under 12.5 firmly in play. With Tyler Warren and Ashton Jeanty likely off the board, Thor expects the 49ers to pivot to trenches help, noting Trent Williams is 36 and the right‑side starter is a revolving door. Banks posted elite 85th‑percentile pass‑block efficiency in the Big 12, checks the 49ers’ athletic thresholds, and offers immediate swing‑tackle flexibility. Nystrom added that Miami (pick 13) will pounce if San Francisco passes after losing Terron Armstead, creating a narrow escape hatch for the Under. He recommended bettors take Banks to be a top‑12 selection or sprinkle 49ers‑Banks exact‑match props while books still price him behind Will Campbell and Mason Graham among trench prospects.

Pat Mayo floated the 49ers as a sneaky destination if Shedeur Sanders slides into the mid‑teens on draft night. Mayo reasoned that San Francisco could avoid handing Brock Purdy a top‑of‑market extension by pivoting to Sanders’ inexpensive rookie deal, freeing cap space to keep their blue‑chip supporting cast intact. He added that evaluators have repeatedly said Sanders’ timing‑and‑rhythm strengths mesh perfectly with Kyle Shanahan’s quick‑game concepts. Mayo advised bettors to sprinkle on the long‑shot “Team to Draft Shedeur Sanders – 49ers” prop before bookmakers catch up, noting the market is still pricing Cleveland and New Orleans as the primary threats.

Jason La Confora pushed back on the D‑line consensus and suggested taking the +400 flier on the 49ers opening with a defensive back—either South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori or the top corner on the board. La Confora cited league feedback that there are starter‑grade defensive tackles in every round, whereas position‑less DBs who can erase Kyle Shanahan’s scheme‑killers (think Kyle Hamilton vs. Brock Purdy) are rare. With Mike Macdonald now in the division, La Confora expects a chess‑match for hybrid safeties and thinks Lynch’s own background in the secondary nudges him toward an impact DB if the right one falls.

Mike Renner advised bettors to hammer the +180 on a defensive lineman being San Francisco’s first pick. Renner noted that outside of Nick Bosa the Niners have zero proven pass‑rush snaps under contract, and GM John Lynch’s draft history (three DL in his first four first‑rounders) shows a clear priority. Renner dismissed offensive‑line talk, arguing you can find plug‑and‑play guards in Round 2 but cannot locate premium edge talent after pick 20. He expects San Francisco to choose between Clemson’s T.J. Parker and Texas’ Ethan Burke, both graded as top‑15 overall players on his board.

Jason Moore said he is back in on Christian McCaffrey as a top‑5 overall pick so long as the 49ers wait until Round 4 or later to draft another runner. Moore does not expect San Francisco to spend Day‑2 capital, noting they already have cheap depth in Jordan Mason and third‑rounder Isaac Garando. Under Kyle Shanahan, late‑round backs historically cap at 3‑5 touches per game unless an injury strikes, so McCaffrey would still dominate high‑value work. Moore reminded listeners that in the 50 games McCaffrey has finished over the past five seasons he has averaged 23.8 half‑PPR points—RB1 level every year. The injury yo‑yo is real, but Moore argued the payoff outweighs the risk when the field overreacts to draft‑day headlines. He advised monitoring the draft closely; if the first 100 picks pass without a running back, McCaffrey immediately re‑enters no‑questions‑asked bell‑cow status in season‑long and best‑ball formats.

Andy Holloway cautioned managers against spending an early pick on Christian McCaffrey after last season’s four‑game flame‑out. Holloway expects San Francisco to add a Day‑1 or Day‑2 running back, arguing that drafting a high‑end rookie would allow the team to reduce McCaffrey’s touches at 28.8 years old and protect a significant financial investment. He pointed to McCaffrey’s boom‑or‑bust recent history—three healthy seasons sandwiched around campaigns of 3, 7, and 4 games played—and said the pain of losing a first‑rounder mid‑season simply is not worth the upside with safer elite backs on the board. Holloway believes McCaffrey can still finish as RB1 overall if healthy but views that outcome as an "all‑or‑nothing bet" that savvy drafters should avoid unless summer workload reports and draft results offer clear reassurance.