Nine players were added to the San Francisco 49ers via the 2023 NFL Draft, and later this month, the rookies will get their first taste of life in the pros at the team's annual rookie minicamp. All nine selections came in the third round or later with the majority of the draft picks being brought in to help bolster the league's reigning No. 1-overall defense. The full draft class breakdown includes five defensive additions, five skills position players and a kicker.
Before the draftees enter the next chapter of their careers, let's take a look at the players' collegiate production:
Before being selected 87th-overall, safety Ji'Ayir Brown spent two seasons (2018-2020) at Lackawanna College and closed out his college career by playing three seasons at Penn State (2020-2022).
- Brown was a two-year starter for the Nittany Lions and did not miss a single game over the course of the 2021 and 22 seasons. In his first year at Penn State, the safety appeared in a total of nine games.
- He had a hand in a total of 16 takeaways during his college career which included 10 interceptions, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
- Brown's 10 career interceptions are tied for 12th in program history and allowed him to rack up 234 interception return yards, the second most at Penn State since 2000.
- The safety racked up 87 of his career 234 interception return yards against Maryland (11/06/21) and marks the fifth-longest interception return in school history.
Kicker Jake Moody is the first kicker to be selected by San Francisco since Jeff Chandler (102nd-overall pick) in 2002 and was one of just three kickers taken in this year's draft. Moody spent a total of five seasons with the Michigan Wolverines.
- Moody owns program records for single-game kick scoring (19 points) and most field goals in a game (six) that were set in his first game place kicking (Indiana, 11/17/18).
- He hit a personal best 59-yard field goal during Michigan's loss to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl/College Football Playoff Semifinals Game earlier this year.
- Moody converted 29-of-35 field goal attempts and went 60-for-60 on extra point attempts during the 2022 season.
- He posted a perfect 148-of-148 mark on extra point attempts in his five seasons with the Wolverines.
Tight end Cameron Latu was the first of two tight ends selected by San Francisco in the draft. The Alabama product was taken with the 101st-overall pick, and after spending the last five seasons in Tuscaloosa, heads to The Bay. Latu, a former linebacker and defensive end, worked his way into the Crimson Tide's offensive rotation, serving as a starter for his final two seasons at Alabama.
- After missing the season opener, Latu started all remaining 11 games for the Crimson Tide in 2022, finishing with 30 receptions for 377 yards and four touchdowns.
- He was named to the watch lists for both the Mackey Award and Polynesian Player of the Year in 2022.
- Latu was one of three college tight ends invited to the second-annual Tight End University event (co-founded by 49ers tight end George Kittle, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and former NFL tight end Greg Olsen) in 2022.
Cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. was the first of the 49ers six draft picks taken on Day 3 of the draft. San Francisco's fifth-rounder spent two seasons at Pearl River Community College before transferring out and playing an additional three seasons at South Alabama.
- He is the fourth-overall Jaguars player to be drafted and the first to come from the defensive side of the ball.
- In 2022, Luter Jr. racked up 42 total tackles, an interception and seven passes defended, earning him Third-Team All-Sun Belt Selection honors.
- Luter Jr. tallied 91 total tackles, five interceptions, 18 pass breakups and a forced fumble in his three seasons at South Alabama.
Defensive lineman Robert Beal Jr.'s whirlwind year continues with his fifth round selection in the draft. Just a few months ago, the Georgia product wrapped up a second-straight College Football Playoff National Championship run with the Bulldogs. He spent five seasons playing under Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
- Beal Jr. made 15 total appearances in 2022, starting eight games for the Bulldogs.
- He finished the 2022 campaign with 26 total tackles, 3.0 sacks, a forced fumble and a forced recovery.
- The defensive lineman racked up three tackles and a sack in the National Championship Game versus TCU.
Linebacker Dee Winters out of TCU was the 49ers only sixth round selection of the draft. Winters is a former safety turned linebacker and was a three-year starter for the Horned Frogs. He closed out his college career with a National Championship Game appearance.
- Winters was named the College Football Semifinal Defensive Most Valuable Player after tallying seven tackles, including three for loss, a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown and a pass breakup on the win over Michigan.
- In 2022, the linebacker finished with 79 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, an interception, three passes defended and a fumble recovery.
- Winters' 246 career stops put him ahead of all current Horned Frogs.
Tight end Brayden Willis was the second tight end drafted by San Francisco over the weekend. During his five seasons at Oklahoma, Willis was a part of three Big 12 Championship teams and two College Football Playoff squads.
- Willis made 58 career appearances and started 25 of those games, registering 75 catches for 998 yards and 13 touchdowns.
- The Sooners tight end's seven touchdowns from the 2022 campaign tie him for fifth-most nationally among tight ends.
- Willis had one 24-yard pass attempt at Nebraska last season and completed it for a touchdown.
Wide receiver Ronnie Bell was the second Michigan player selected by the 49ers in this year's draft and will join his former teammate, Moody, in the pros. Before being taken in the seventh round, Bell was a five-year letterman for the Wolverines, appearing in a total of 47 games for Michigan (31 total starts).
- In 2022, he started all 14 games of the year, leading the team with 62 receptions for 889 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
- Bell also had three carries for 27 yards and a rushing score last season.
- The wide receiver was also part of the Wolverines return team, tallying a tackle and two punt returns for 45 yards during the 2022 campaign.
Linebacker Jalen Graham was the 49ers final selection of the seventh round and the fifth defensive player to be taken by San Francisco over the course of the draft weekend. Graham started 35-of-36 games he played in over the course of his four-year career with the Boilermakers.
- In 2022, Graham closed out the year with 52 total tackles, a sack, a 29-yard interception return for touchdown, five passes defended and a fumble recovery touchdown.
- Last season, Graham averaged a team-high 5.8 tackles per game.
