49ers Rush Podcast with John Chapman · 49ers Chapman Media LLC

49ers 2026 Draft Rush Crush

April 8, 2026·1 hr 13 min·5 clips

John Chapman unveils his 13 'Rush Crush' draft prospects, hidden gems the 49ers could target beyond the first round.

Thirteen names drive the show. Chapman treats the Rush Crush list as an annual tradition, but keeps it separate from top-ten blue-chip rankings and first-round grades. These are his guys, plain and simple. The gold-helmet comparison matters too. He explains that the 49ers have used a gold helmet demarcation, then makes sure his list does not sound like a backhanded shot at players the team might actually draft. The tone stays loose in a very Rush Crush way. Chat questions, thanks, and side comments sit right beside real draft work. J.C. Davis gets the strongest push. Chapman says the profile is probably too clean to fall to the fourth, and he likes the fit in both power and outside-zone looks. Then the calculator ruins the fun a little. The 49ers have two fourth-rounders, pick 127 at about 45 points and pick 133 at about 40. Together, that is 85, which still does not reach round three. That is the point he keeps coming back to. He says the package might only climb to pick 104, the fourth pick of round four, after waiting through the third and most of the fourth. Still, there is a trigger. If Davis, Stribling, or Oscar Delp somehow gets near the top of the fourth, Chapman would spend both picks to go get one. That is the tension: he likes an aggressive move for a specific Rush Crush, but he is not pretending two late fourths become third-round money. Other players get quick nods. Justin Jolly and Jaquan Wright miss the Rush Crush list, though Chapman says he is positive on both. By the end, he sounds cooked. After a one-hour, twelve-minute solo show, he says his podcast voice is done, points listeners to the 49ers draft book, and signs off stay-strong-and-faithful style.

As heard by us

A loose, specific draft-room episode that turns 49ers Rush Crush names into real trade-up debate.

John Chapman spends the episode building his annual 49ers Rush Crush board around the 13 players he likes most in this draft. The talk stays on fit more than consensus lists.

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Want a 49ers Rush Crush list with actual pick-value math?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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