The 2026 NFL Draft is here. While the San Francisco 49ers were loaded with capital last offseason, they made a number of trades with their picks this year. They moved their fifth-round pick for Bryce Huff, their sixth-round pick for Brian Robinson Jr., and their seventh-round pick for Khalil Davis.
San Francisco even got additional capital from the Jordan Mason trade last offseason, where they acquired a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the running back.
However, they also moved that sixth-round pick during the season for New England Patriots defensive lineman Keion White.
With the draft here, let’s go back and revisit that Mason trade with all of the moving pieces.
San Francisco 49ers receive: 2025 fifth-round pick (No. 160 overall) and 2026 sixth-round pick (No. 198 overall).
San Francisco used the first of the two picks on Kansas State safety Marques Sigle last offseason.
Then, as mentioned above, they traded the second of the two picks for defensive line help, acquiring Keion White at the trade deadline from the New England Patriots.
This is still a wait-and-see, as both of the 49ers contributors still have time to develop in San Francisco.
Sigle was a contributor as a rookie for the 49ers, playing 15 games while making seven starts. He had 52 tackles, two pass breakups, and one tackle for loss.
While there were certainly flashes from the rookie safety, including his closing speed and willingness to hit, there were also some major learning moments that showed Sigle wasn’t quite ready to start last year. He’s still got a ways to improve in coverage and with his tackling, which will be points of emphasis this season.
Still, there’s the potential there to be a starting safety for the 49ers in the future.
White, on the other hand, was arguably San Francisco’s most disruptive pass rusher last year, at least on the interior after coming in during the trade deadline. He was a versatile piece, being used both on the edge and the inside, and had 24 pressures in 11 games, ranking third overall on the team.
White’s 12.5 percent pass rush win rate was third among defensive linemen behind Yetur Gross-Matos and Bryce Huff, and he also had more than one year of team control.
He’s got a cap hit of just $1.8 million for the upcoming year, and should fit in better in more of a rotational role for the 49ers this season.
Jordan Mason was a key piece for the Vikings last year, emerging as their starter, as he rushed for 758 yards and six touchdowns on 4.8 yards per carry. He was better than the 49ers No. 2 running back last year, but the two-year, $10.5 million price point was likely too high for San Francisco.