Top 2026 edge rusher prospects compared to 49ers greats
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 NFL draft isn't considered one of the strongest, but the class's edge rushers are certainly garnering a lot of attention already. Players like Arvell Reece, David Bailey and Rueben Bain Jr. are all considered top-5 picks, and several more could be selected throughout the first round.
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The San Francisco 49ers have had success at identifying and drafting elite edge rushing talent in the draft. ESPN's Aaron Schatz used a prediction model called SackSEER to determine which prospects could tally the most sacks over their first five years in the NFL. And through his research, he compared two of the top edge rushers from the 2026 class with two of the better recent 49ers: Bain is similar to 2019 first-rounder Nick Bosa and Akeem Mesidor is similar 2011 first-rounder Aldon Smith.
These teammates come out with almost identical SackSEER measurements. Mesidor had more sacks last season (12.5 compared with Bain's 9.5), but the SRAM (sack rate as modified) variable takes into account that Mesidor was in his sixth season of college eligibility while Bain was only in his third. Mesidor will be 25 on draft day, while Bain doesn't turn 22 until September.
Now, these aren't apples-to-apples comparisons. But Schatz is writing that Bain and Mesidor are similar, historically, to Bosa and Smith. Both were solid draft choices for the 49ers — Bosa remains an elite edge rusher and Smith had 44 sacks in four seasons for San Francisco before off-field issues got in the way of his career.
While Bain will likely be gone when the 49ers pick at No. 27, Mesidor is an option for the team with their first-round pick if they want to add another edge rusher to the defense in 2026. Bosa is coming off an ACL injury and 2025 first-rounder Mykell Williams is as well.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Top 2026 edge rusher prospects compared to 49ers greats