The Gracen Halton hype is in full swing in San Francisco.
The San Francisco 49ers stole Halton, a defensive tackle from Oklahoma, with the 107th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft after some mocks ahead of the draft had him going as early as the second round. Peter Panacy of Niner Noise, FanSided's 49ers site, immediately had high hopes for the pick, and those expectations have only grown when he gave insight to Stormin' In Norman about Halton this week.
Gracen Halton primed for rookie breakout for 49ers after NFL Draft steal
"Perhaps my favorite pick from the Niners' class, Halton could make an immediate impact from day one, serving as a disruptive run stuffer who can shoot gaps and create problems behind the line of scrimmage," Panacy told Stormin' In Norman. "San Francisco desperately needed to shore up its interior run defense, and Halton will help with that right away.
"Heck, it's possible he becomes the 49ers rookie who makes the biggest difference in 2026."
Read more: 49ers fans are already realizing what a steal they got with Gracen Halton
Halton was right in the middle of one of the best defensive lines in college football last season while recording 33 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, seven quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble.
Unlike most prospects the 49ers could have taken, Halton spent his entire four-year career with the Sooners, totalling 47 appearances and 10 starts in head coach Brent Venables' system. Two of those seasons, during which Halton was most productive, came in the loaded SEC.
Halton was the fourth of eight players the 49ers selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. He went after second-round pick De'Zhaun Stribling, a wide receiver from Ole Miss, and a pair of third-round picks in defensive end Romello Height from Texas Tech and running back Kaelon Black from Indiana.
The 49ers were fortunate Halton was still on the board at that point for what Panacy immediately believed could be the late-round steal of the draft. It's more about the situation than where in the draft, though, and as Panacy pointed out, Halton could be set up better immediately than any other rookie on the 49ers' roster next season.
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