ESPN analyst names 5-foot-9 DB as 49ers breakout candidate

1 hour ago 1

The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of interesting players on both sides of the ball worth getting excited about during the upcoming 2026 NFL season.

While Mike Evans and the rest of the new-look wide receiver room will draw plenty of attention, as will new defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa, there's another player who is drawing some big attention despite being 5-foot-9.

ESPN analyst Ben Solak identified each team's breakout candidate for 2026 and named defensive back Upton Stout, the 2025 third-round pick, as the 49ers' breakout candidate for this upcoming season.

Upton Stout named as 49ers breakout candidate for 2026

"Stout got burned plenty as a risk taker, but he didn't make the same mistakes over and over again," Solak writes. "He'll never dominate with pass breakups given his 5-foot-9, 181-pound size, but he has stopping power as a tackler and creates opportunities for his teammates to finish off run plays by penetrating and disrupting."

The 49ers defensive back started in the slot for his rookie season. Across 16 games, Stout recorded five passes defended, one forced fumble, one sack, 82 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits.

On 69 targets in pass coverage, the 2025 third-rounder allowed 48 completions for 531 yards and no touchdowns, good for a 92.1 passer rating allowed in his rookie year.

That's not a great number, but it's not terrible by any means either. Stout was a very underrated player for the 49ers' defense last season, and he could be in store for a big 2026 now as well.

MORE: How 49ers' problem with Brandon Aiyuk might've been solved without a trade or release

Solak named Stout the 49ers breakout candidate, and also noted how he believes Stout can, "... stick around in the league for a long, long time as he fully gets up to the mental speed of the game."

The 24-year-old defensive back is just getting started in his NFL career, and after a promising rookie season, there's reason to believe he could take his game to the next level in 2026.

One of the keys for Stout and the 49ers defense as a whole will be health. If Fred Warner, Mykel Williams, and Nick Bosa are all back, Stout's job should be a lot easier.

There are plenty of fun players on this 49ers roster, but Stout is the one Solak identified as a breakout candidate. While the 5-foot-9 DB might not be the biggest defender, he has a chance to have the biggest breakout this upcoming season of any 49ers player.