49ers News: Combine is already less than a week away — and more

49ers continue D-line rebuild in Daniel Jeremiah’s 2026 NFL mock draft
“”Hunter can hold the point against the run, and he showed flashes of his upside as a pass rusher at the Senior Bowl,” Jeremiah wrote. “Recent Super Bowl winners have featured waves of defensive linemen they can rotate. Hunter joins 2025 draft picks Alfred Collins and CJ West to form a talented young trio on the interior.” 

Hunter spent three seasons at UCF before transferring to Texas Tech for his final year. Over his collegiate career, he recorded 172 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, one pass defensed, and a forced fumble. 

At 6-foot-4 and 321 pounds, Hunter has the prototypical size to anchor the middle of an NFL defensive front. According to Pro Football Focus, he posted career-best marks in 2025, including an 80.9 overall defensive grade, an 84.5 run-defense grade, and a 72.1 pass-rush grade…..”Hunter is a two-gapping nose tackle for odd or even fronts,” Zierlein wrote. “He has the size, strength, and length to do battle in the heart of the trenches, but requires better block take-on technique to sit firmer in his grass. He won’t win in the gaps, but he can stack and shed single blocks or slide and stabilize his run fit against zone blocks. 

“Hunter’s girth and length are advantages when aligning over the center as a run defender. He doesn’t have enough quickness or skill as a rusher to see many passing downs, but he can dent the pocket with his power. Hunter projects as an early down space-eater who can make interior offensive linemen work for their gaps.”

The War Room: The Denzel Boston of it all
“Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn: Call me a sucker for a power edge. He will draw Mykel Williams comps, but Lance Zierlein’s comp of Carlos Dunlap is a bit better. Like Williams, he’s just 20, and underdeveloped as a pass rusher. He’s a bit springy/bendier, but far clumsier and I worse with his hands. If you watch the Kentucky tape, he’s a world beater. If you watch the Arkansas tape, he’s a run-oriented, limited edge. There are an enormous range of outcomes here, but he’s a velociraptor in the run game, and on the reps it works in the pass game, he’s son’ing people. There’s steep upside and downside.

Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee: I kind of think every corner in this draft is incredible? Brandon Cisse might be the exception (extremely high upside, and can be deployed in a variety of ways, particularly as a blitzer, but has to land in the right spot), but Hood is sound. Ideal frame, athletic ability, and a very sharp zone corner who tackles very well.

Avery Smith, CB, Toledo: This is a Shrine Bowl crush of mine. I think he’s a very high IQ corner whose athletic limitations could be a real problem. You see plays when he’s ready to jump a route because of something he’s seen on film. He, a la Richard Sherman (not a player comp, but a mental one) wins a lot before the play.”

49ers named best fit for Super Bowl champion CB set to hit free agency
“Improving the interior of the offensive line is a must for Kyle Shanahan’s offense,” Bowen wrote. “Seumalo can displace defenders in both zone and gap run concepts, plus he would keep the pocket firm in pass pro for quarterback Brock Purdy.”

Seumalo (6-4, 303) brings significant NFL experience, appearing in 125 games with 104 starts, including 14 starts for Pittsburgh in 2025. According to Pro Football Focus, he has earned at least a 73.3 offensive grade in four of his last five seasons. In 2025, he posted a 76.4 pass-blocking grade and a 67.1 run-blocking grade.

“The 10-year veteran has the foot quickness to redirect defenders and the body control to wrestle back against power rushers,” Bowen added. “Seumalo’s 97.3% pass rush win rate with the Steelers this season ranked second among 65 qualifying guards, and his 76.9% run block win rate checked in at fourth.”

Ranking the 49ers’ free agents: From Jauan Jennings’ price to special teams standouts (paywall)
“Did Burford, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2022, finally find a home at left guard? He started the season as the backup left tackle but slid into the guard spot when injuries piled up. He handled himself pretty well. A year ago, 49ers guard Aaron Banks signed a four-year deal worth $77 million with the Packers and teams are always willing to pounce on young offensive linemen. It’s why Burford is higher on this list than you probably thought he would be.”

Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni conceded his mistake in the Derby d’Italia during yesterday’s press conference. 

According to Gazzetta dello Sport via FCInterNews, despite admitting his wrongdoing, the Italian star showed no mercy for ‘fake’ moralists.

Alessandro Bastoni found himself at the center of the drama in Saturday’s mouth-watering Serie A clash against Juventus.

Indeed, the 26-year-old deceived referee Federico La Penna into dismissing Juventus ace Pierre Kalulu on the stroke of halftime.

Inter Milan Star Alessandro Bastoni Apologizes but Slams Moralists & Hypocrites

VERONA, ITALY – NOVEMBER 02: Alessandro Bastoni of FC Internazionale celebrates during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and FC Internazionale at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on November 02, 2025 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Despite helping his side win the derby, Bastoni had to pay a hefty price for his on-field antics.

Indeed, frustrated Juventus supporters threw a wave of insults toward the Nerazzurri stalwart after the game.

Furthermore, Bastoni even received death threats on social media before turning off comments on his Instagram profile.

Aware of his mistake, he apologized and admitted he reacted poorly in the head of the moment.

Mikel Arteta has confirmed Arsenal are reviewing their warm-up routines after a fourth pre-match injury setback this season.

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

Mikel Arteta has confirmedArsenal are investigating their pre-match routines after four separate injuries in the warm-up before kick-off this season.

Speaking ahead of the Premier League fixture against Wolves, Arteta acknowledged the pattern is unusual and is being examined internally. “Yeah, big time. It’s very unusual,” he said. “It probably happened once or twice in six years I’ve been here and it’s happened four times (this season). We’re looking into it.”

The most recent case involved Riccardo Calafiori, who was withdrawn before the game against Wigan for the second time this season after pulling up in the warm-up. The reshuffle forced changes across the side, with Myles Lewis-Skelly moved back to left-back and Bukayo Saka starting in midfield.

Earlier in the campaign, William Saliba was withdrawn at Anfield with an ankle injury, while Saka also pulled out before the trip to Leeds.

Asked whether the regularity of the incidents was becoming a concern, Arteta said: “Big time. They were very different. The first one was with Wilo when he rolled his ankle against Liverpool. Then we had two incidents with Ricky in the warm-up in a really similar way.

“And then one was Bukayo after he rested in midweek and didn’t play against Kairat, and then [got injured] against Leeds, he had that incident.

“It’s very unusual. It probably happened once or twice I think in the six years that I’ve been here, and it’s happened four times [this season]. So obviously we are looking in to it.

“On the Wilo one it’s one that’s very difficult to see. Sometimes, you want to try and test a player before making sure that he’s ready, and the warm-up is another opportunity to do that.

“And Bukayo is very random because he never gave any symptoms or signals away that this could happen in the warm-up. But it is what it is. We have to learn.”

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

Arteta admitted the uncertainty has altered his mindset in the final minutes before kick-off. “Yes, I can feel in my body, I’m more aware of it,” he said.

“So I’m in the office, and I hear my door, and somebody is stepping in, and I’m like, ‘No, please’ because it’s a moment that is very tricky, because when you change Ricky for Bukayo [like on Sunday,] you have to change a lot of things within the game plan, positions, a lot of things that are different and you have two minutes to do that.

“So yes, it makes you a better coach because you have to be ‘what-if, what-if’ and there are more and more what-ifs just before the game and then a lot during the game. So you just need to be more prepared.”