The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the NFL’s most talented rosters year after year, even as injuries have chipped away at that talent in stretches. So, in hypothetical terms, how much draft capital could that roster fetch if the 49ers wanted to sell it off?
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell looked at how many draft picks each team’s stars would command on the open market. For San Francisco, that group is smaller than in years past, with just three players clearing the one-first-round-pick bar.
Edge rusher Nick Bosa is the lone 49er Barnwell says is worth at least one first-round pick, likely because of his two career ACL tears (Bosa tore his right ACL in Week 3 of 2025, six years after his first). Even so, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year has 64.5 career sacks, the third-most in franchise history.
Quarterback Brock Purdy and linebacker Fred Warner round out San Francisco’s list of players worth only one first-round pick. Both played through shortened 2025 seasons — Purdy missed eight games with toe and shoulder injuries, and Warner’s year ended in Week 6 with a dislocated and fractured ankle. Barnwell still considers Warner the best off-ball linebacker in football, even at 30. Warner has 948 career tackles, 10 interceptions and 17 forced fumbles across eight seasons. Purdy, 26, has thrown for 11,685 yards and 84 touchdowns since arriving as the final pick of the 2022 draft.
What’s most notable is who’s missing from the list. Veteran stars like offensive tackle Trent Williams, receiver Mike Evans, tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t make the cut. The reasons, Barnwell notes, are related to age and injury concerns.
Evans, 32, is coming off his first injury-ruined season as a pro. Kittle, also 32, is still working back from the torn Achilles he suffered in the postseason. McCaffrey, 30, stayed healthy for most of last season, but his injury history is well documented. Williams turns 38 this weekend and hasn’t played a full season since 2013. Barnwell added that while they’re all still productive, they’re worth more to San Francisco as pieces of the roster than they’d be in a trade elsewhere.
Unlike their division rival, the Los Angeles Rams, which had six players clear the bar, San Francisco’s list tops out at three. It’s less a knock on the 49ers’ talent than a reflection of how much of it spent 2025 in the trainer’s room. But they’re still a top team in the NFC at least, and not one looking to sell just yet.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: How many picks would the 49ers get if they traded all their top guys?
Reporting by Oliver G., Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Oliver G., Niners Wire | USA TODAY Network
