QUINIX Sport News: Experts' top prospects highlight best players who will be available for 49ers on draft day

The San Francisco 49ers are sitting in a potentially tough spot in the 2025 NFL draft.

At the No. 11 pick they run the risk of the best players on the board not fitting their top needs, but they also run into a problem where even the best players on the board aren’t substantially better prospects than the ones they may be able to snag later in the first round or early in the second round.

What the 49ers need to hope for is some wild shakeups in the top 10 that allow a couple of the best prospects to slip to them and open some doors for either a first-round steal or a trade back.

To get an idea of the top players in this year’s draft we eschewed the mock drafts for a moment and went straight to the big boards. Part of the process in mock drafts is matching players to teams. With big boards we get an idea of the best players available without needing to match player and team.

We went through big boards for some of the top draft analysts and NFL draft sites and picked out the top 11 from each to get a better gauge on the top players who could be available when San Francisco is on the clock:

Mel Kiper, ESPN

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
4. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
5. QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
6. QB Cam Ward, Miami
7. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
8. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
9. OT Will Campbell, LSU
10. RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
11. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan

Matt Miller, ESPN

1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
6. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
7. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
8. OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
9. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
10. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
11. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL

1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
6. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
7. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
8. QB Cam Ward, Miami
9. LB Jihaad Campbell
10. OT Will Campbell, LSU
11. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas

Dane Brugler, the Athletic

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
6. OT Will Campbell, LSU
7. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
8. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
9. DE Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M
10. DE Mike Green, Marshall
11. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan

Danny Kelly, the Ringer

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
5. QB Cam Ward, Miami
6. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
7. OT Will Campbell, LSU
8. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
9. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
10. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
11. LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama

Pro Football Focus

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
6. OT Will Campbell, LSU
7. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas
8. DL Walter Nolen, Mississippi
9. S Malaki Starks, Georgia
10. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
11. LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama

The Draft Network

1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
3. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
4. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
5. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
6. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
7. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
8. OT Will Campbell, LSU
9. QB Cam Ward, Miami
10. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
11. WR Matthew Golden, Texas

The NFL draft is slated to begin at 5:00pm Pacific Time on Thursday, April 24.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Best prospects available for 49ers in 1st round

​

The San Francisco 49ers are sitting in a potentially tough spot in the 2025 NFL draft.

At the No. 11 pick they run the risk of the best players on the board not fitting their top needs, but they also run into a problem where even the best players on the board aren’t substantially better prospects than the ones they may be able to snag later in the first round or early in the second round.

What the 49ers need to hope for is some wild shakeups in the top 10 that allow a couple of the best prospects to slip to them and open some doors for either a first-round steal or a trade back.

To get an idea of the top players in this year’s draft we eschewed the mock drafts for a moment and went straight to the big boards. Part of the process in mock drafts is matching players to teams. With big boards we get an idea of the best players available without needing to match player and team.

We went through big boards for some of the top draft analysts and NFL draft sites and picked out the top 11 from each to get a better gauge on the top players who could be available when San Francisco is on the clock:

Mel Kiper, ESPN

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
4. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
5. QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
6. QB Cam Ward, Miami
7. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
8. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
9. OT Will Campbell, LSU
10. RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
11. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan

Matt Miller, ESPN

1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
6. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
7. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
8. OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
9. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
10. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
11. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL

1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
6. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
7. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
8. QB Cam Ward, Miami
9. LB Jihaad Campbell
10. OT Will Campbell, LSU
11. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas

Dane Brugler, the Athletic

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
6. OT Will Campbell, LSU
7. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
8. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
9. DE Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M
10. DE Mike Green, Marshall
11. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan

Danny Kelly, the Ringer

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
4. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
5. QB Cam Ward, Miami
6. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
7. OT Will Campbell, LSU
8. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
9. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
10. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
11. LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama

Pro Football Focus

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
4. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
5. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
6. OT Will Campbell, LSU
7. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas
8. DL Walter Nolen, Mississippi
9. S Malaki Starks, Georgia
10. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
11. LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama

The Draft Network

1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
3. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
4. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
5. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
6. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
7. DE Jalon Walker, Georgia
8. OT Will Campbell, LSU
9. QB Cam Ward, Miami
10. OT Armand Membou, Missouri
11. WR Matthew Golden, Texas

The NFL draft is slated to begin at 5:00pm Pacific Time on Thursday, April 24.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Best prospects available for 49ers in 1st round