The San Francisco 49ers have had one of the NFL’s best rosters for the last few years, but they have some salary cap issues to sort out if they are to finally win the Super Bowl championship that has eluded them for over 25 years.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is up for a contract extension, and quarterback Brock Purdy and safety Talanoa Hufanga will need extensions within a year or two themselves.
Because of the salary cap situation they’re in, the 49ers need to make the most of their draft picks in order to have key contributors who are on team-friendly rookie contracts.
Fortunately, they’re expected to get a bit of help in that regard, as they’re projected to receive two compensatory picks in next year’s draft, per NBC Sports Bay Area.
The picks are projected to be awarded to San Francisco because they lost backup quarterback Sam Darnold and tight end Charlie Woerner in free agency.
The picks are projected to be in the fifth and seventh rounds of the 2025 draft, and that is in addition to a third-round compensatory pick they received because former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans left to become the Houston Texans’ head coach a year ago.
Many wanted the Niners to take a right tackle in the first round of this year’s draft, but they instead went with wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, even though he wasn’t talked about a ton as one of the better wideout prospects this year.
Pearsall does have some potential, which led some to believe he was selected in preparation for an Aiyuk trade.
John Lynch, however, recently came out and said they’re not looking to trade Aiyuk or, for that matter, fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
