Three players the NFL forgot about have surprisingly high chance to crack the 49ers' roster
Given the level of talent on the San Francisco 49ers' roster, it theoretically figures to be very difficult for any undrafted rookie to make the final 53. San Francisco brought in undrafted free agents after selecting eight players in the 2024 NFL Draft. While it would appear likely to be an uphill climb for any […]
Given the level of talent on the San Francisco 49ers' roster, it theoretically figures to be very difficult for any undrafted rookie to make the final 53.
San Francisco brought in undrafted free agents after selecting eight players in the 2024 NFL Draft.
While it would appear likely to be an uphill climb for any of those UDFAs to earn a place on the roster of the reigning NFC champions, three rookies from that group stand out as at least having a better shot than most.
Arif Hasan assessed the chances of every undrafted free agent in the NFL making their team's roster in a piece for his Wide Left newsletter.
He looked at the guaranteed money given to each UDFA and their rank on his consensus big board to create a formula to reveal the likelihood of every player gaining a spot on the roster in percentage terms.
No player has a higher percentage chance than Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Curtis Jacobs at 26.9%.
However, the 49ers have three UDFAs that have at least a 20 percent shot to make their roster.
Defensive tackle Evan Anderson, who received $280,000 in guaranteed money, is given a 23.9 percent shot. Running back Cody Schrader ($220k) has a 22.4 percent chance while center Drake Nugent is given 20.4 percent odds to make it after receiving $190,000 in guaranteed money.
Niners defensive line coach Kris Kocurek has been open that the 49ers view Anderson as a similar player to their former defensive tackle D.J. Jones, whose run-stuffing skill set they have not replaced since he departed after the 2021 season.
But given the sheer level of depth the 49ers have on the D-Line, his hopes of making the team are likely to rest predominantly on how many players San Francisco wishes to carry up front. He will be hoping the Niners are considering going 10 deep on the D-Line.
Nugent similarly could find himself crowded out, though with a strong workout program and training camp he could position himself as a long-term solution at center with Jake Brendel an under-the-radar cap casualty candidate next offseason.
But the 49ers aren't really in need of a backup center on the 53 this season. They have Jon Feliciano who can play guard and center and spent a third-round pick on Dominick Puni, whom they believe can play all five spots on the O-Line. Simply put, there are too many other players with more versatile skill sets on the offensive line depth chart for Nugent to hold realistic hopes of anything beyond a practice squad spot.
In terms of the clearest path, that almost certainly belongs to Schrader. Christian McCaffrey is the focal point of the 49er offense at running back and the 49ers also traded up for Isaac Guerendo in the fourth round. However, the 49ers can move on from both Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason with very little dead cap cost, while free agent signing Patrick Taylor Jr. does not have any guaranteed money on his deal.
Schrader therefore can be considered as the best candidate to crash the 49ers' 53-man roster if he can demonstrate the kind of ability that helped him lead the SEC in rushing in his final year with Missouri.
None of the top-earning UDFA trio should be discounted, but it is the underdog running back who looms as the best candidate to earn a place on a roster that will be extremely difficult to crack.
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