The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to terms with eight undrafted free agents, including an experienced punter and an edge player who led the FBS in quarterback pressures in 2024.
The following ranking, in order of the player’s best chance to make the 49ers’ roster, was compiled after I contacted NFL evaluators, consulted with The Athletic’s Dane Brugler (and his exhaustive draft guide), and spoke with many of the prospects’ agents. I also considered their competition this offseason, a major factor in landing on the active roster or practice squad.
Once the undrafted players sign their contracts, the 49ers’ roster will be at the 90-player maximum.
Mikail Kamara, edge, Indiana
Kamara fell out of the draft because he doesn’t have the length or quickness of a classic edge rusher. He stands a little under 6-1 with 31 3/4-inch arms, and his 1.7-second 10-yard split is considered plodding for an NFL pass rusher.
Still, he was consistently productive on Indiana’s national champion squad. And there were roughly 7-10 teams interested in Kamara throughout the process, with perhaps half that number pushing hard to sign him as the draft drew to a close.
What swung it for the 49ers? They plan to use him the way Indiana used him in 2024, when he had 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and led the FBS in total pressures (68), per Pro Football Focus.
The Hoosiers allowed him to pin his ears back and go after the quarterback that season, which is 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek’s style. Last year, Kamara was asked to drop into coverage a lot more — 70 times versus 10 in 2024 — and his pass-rush stats dipped (two sacks, seven TFLs) as a result.
Another factor in the 49ers’ favor: Kamara will join former Hoosier teammate CJ West on San Francisco’s defensive line. West and Kamara spoke on the phone in the run-up to the draft, with West talking up the merits of Kocurek’s style of play.
Though the 49ers used a third-round pick on Romello Height, there will be plenty of opportunities for young edge players such as Kamara to make their mark this offseason. Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams will be rehabilitating from their 2025 ACL tears until at least the start of training camp. In addition to Kamara and Height, the team has Keion White, Cameron Sample, Sam Okuayinonu, William Bradley-King and Andrew Farmer II on the offseason roster.
The 49ers were in hot pursuit of other undrafted edge players, including Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker, who had 14.5 sacks last year. Tucker ended up signing with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Jack Bouwmeester, P, Texas
There are several reasons Bouwmeester has a good shot of making the team. First, the 49ers’ current punter, Corliss Waitman, has been in the league since 2020 but has never spent more than two seasons in one place. He signed a one-year deal in March.
Second, the 49ers did a lot of homework on punters in the run-up to the draft, with their reported pursuit including virtual interviews with Syracuse’s Jack Stonehouse and Iowa State’s Tyler Perkins. That suggests they’re interested in finding a punter for the future.
Finally, Bouwmeester was a steady college punter who played in 50 career games, averaging 44.5 yards per punt last season (none blocked) with 14 that went more than 50 yards. Bouwmeester is also a native of Bendigo, Australia, which is a roughly two-hour drive from Melbourne, the site of the 49ers’ Week 1 opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
Khalil Dinkins, TE, Penn State
Dinkins’ receiving numbers are minuscule. He caught 14 passes (on 21 targets) for 167 yards in 2025, which ranked third among Penn State tight ends. His speciality, however, is blocking. He lined up primarily inline and was a strong run blocker for the Nittany Lions. The son of former NFL tight end Darnell Dinkins, he has good heft at 251 pounds and bench pressed 225 pounds 25 times, a solid number for a tight end.
He ranks high on this list because of the value the 49ers place on blocking, and because they don’t have many tight ends on the roster. Their top player, George Kittle, is iffy for the start of the season after tearing an Achilles tendon in January. The others: Luke Farrell, Jake Tonges, Brayden Willis and Hayden Rucci. The 49ers have not drafted a tight end since Cameron Latu in the third round in 2023.
Bryson Eason, DT, Tennessee
Eason is similar to former 49er Kalia Davis in that he began college as a big-bodied linebacker before transitioning to the interior defensive line. Eason was more prominent for his run defense than pass rush at Tennessee. He had just 4.5 sacks and 59 pressures after his move to the defensive line in 2022.
Still, he has good size (323 pounds) and length (33 1/2-inch arms) and moves well for someone his size. He ran his 40 in 5.09 seconds, not too shabby for a 320-plus pounder. The hope is that as he gains experience and develops better technique, he will become more effective as a pass rusher.
As it stands now, Osa Odighizuwa, Alfred Collins, CJ West and fourth-round pick Gracen Halton figure to be the 49ers’ top four defensive tackles. The team, however, likes to keep five on the active roster, setting up a good spring and summer competition between a quartet of undrafted players: Evan Anderson, Sebastian Valdez, Eason and James Thompson (below).
James Thompson Jr., DT, Illinois
According to the NFL Network, the 49ers reeled in Thompson with the help of $280,000 in guarantees, one of the highest amounts doled out to an undrafted rookie this year.
The difference between Thompson and Eason is one of ceiling and floor, as Eason is still learning the position.
Thompson stands out for his strength — 36 bench reps of 225 pounds at his pro day — but is a bit stiff and linear with only 31 3/8-inch arms. His sack numbers aren’t much more impressive than Eason’s — six in six college seasons.
Will Pauling, WR, Notre Dame
Pauling wasn’t overly productive at Notre Dame in 2025 (36 catches, 381 yards, six touchdowns), but he was two years earlier at Wisconsin, when he led the team with 74 catches, 837 receiving yards and six touchdowns. At 5-9 1/2 and 183 pounds, Pauling is a slot-only receiver. He had a lot of trouble with drops — 17 in two seasons — at Wisconsin but had just two last season at Notre Dame.
Wesley Grimes, WR, NC State
The 49ers were interested enough in Grimes to use one of their 30 visits on him earlier this month. He wasn’t prominent at NC State last season — he was fourth on the team with 29 catches and 430 receiving yards. But he has good size at 6-2, 194 pounds and reportedly ran a 4.35-second 40 at his pro day. After landing Pauling (93.8 percent of snaps out of the slot), the 49ers liked that Grimes lined up 89.9 percent of the time as an outside receiver.
Jalen Stroman, S, Notre Dame
General manager John Lynch said the team had its eye on a few safeties in the draft but that the board didn’t align to take them. The only safety they brought in was Stroman, who spent four years at Virginia Tech before playing at Notre Dame in 2025.
Like current 49ers safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha, Stroman is more adept moving forward and making tackles in the box than he is in a deep safety role. He had just three pass defenses and one interception over his college career.
The other safeties on the roster: Brown, Mustapha, Marques Sigle, Siran Neal, Darrick Forrest and Derrick Canteen.
