The San Francisco 49ers are preparing for their preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders before shifting their focus to the Los Angeles Rams, whom they will face in Week 1 in Melbourne, Australia.
While the 2027 NFL offseason may feel far away, ESPN's Jordan Reid is already looking ahead to the moves head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch could make following the 2026 season to improve the 49ers' roster.
Reid released a 2027 NFL mock draft and has the 49ers selecting at No. 28 overall, with the draft slot determined by ESPN's Football Power Index. The draft analyst has San Francisco finally finding a potential successor to Trent Williams, a move some might consider long overdue.
Reid has the 49ers using their first-round pick on Stanford offensive tackle Niki Prongos.
"Prongos has been one of the more pleasant surprises in my summer film study, and I wanted to make sure he was in this mock," Reid wrote. "There's a bit of projection with this pick, as Prongos is still a work in progress. But the 6-foot-7, 315-pound former walk-on has good foundational tools, and I really like his upward trajectory."
Prongos played three seasons for UCLA, appearing in 10 games with eight starts, before heading to Stanford in 2025. He started all 12 games at left tackle for the Cardinal.
Williams has made it clear that he expects his current contract with the 49ers to be his last and will likely retire once it expires. He is widely considered one of the best offensive linemen in NFL history and will undoubtedly be headed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame once he becomes eligible.
"Future Hall of Famer Trent Williams will be 39 before next season, so the 49ers eventually have to find his successor," Reid wrote. "While Prongos has to work on his depth in pass sets and hand violence, he could rise and fill that need for San Francisco."
Mentioned in this article: Trent Williams
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