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PlayerTatum Bethune · LB, San Francisco 49ers, Model Score 75.9Be the 49ers GM

Tatum Bethune

San Francisco 49ers
Pos LB
Updated October 8, 2026
Compare Tatum Bethune LB rankings →

Model Score

75.9 MODEL
Resting on limited playing time

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

STM Take

First STTM ranking at tier 5 (#33) in year two for a 215th overall pick puts Bethune in the outlier-positive class for Day 3 LB late-round prospects. The Florida State-via-UCF transfer pedigree plus the 49ers' position-specific coaching gives him basic developmental foundation. The 2026 question is whether Bethune crosses into tier 4 territory or whether the role compresses to swing depth.

Bethune came out of Florida State as the San Francisco 49ers' 6th-round pick (215th overall) in 2024 after transferring from UCF. He spent his rookie year as developmental depth before emerging into a rotational role in 2025. His first STTM appearance comes in 2025 at tier 5 (#33), an unusual year-two emergence for a Day 3 6th-round pick.

Strengths

  • Year-two tier 5 (#33) STTM finish for a 215th overall 6th-round pick puts him in the outlier-positive class for Day 3 LB prospects.
  • Florida State-via-UCF transfer pedigree plus the structural 49ers anchor reps gives him real developmental foundation.

Concerns

  • Single tier 5 finish without prior STTM history caps the long-term projection certainty.
  • San Francisco's broader defensive identity around Fred Warner's primary anchor role compresses Bethune's structural snap share.

What to watch: Whether Bethune crosses into tier 4 (top 30) in 2026, the threshold for confirming the developmental climb continues.

Comps

Coming out
pros whose college production, size and testing looked like his
Dee Winters84%Shaun Bradley81%Brian Asamoah81%

Tatum Bethune Injury StatusNot listed

Tatum Bethune is not on the injury report as of Oct 7. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.

Draft & College

Round 7, pick 251 · San Francisco 49ers · 2024
Florida State (ACC)
Taken
#251
where he actually went
Consensus board
262nd
average of the public big boards that spring
Our college model
#220
among LB in our college data

He went about where consensus had him.

In college · 2019-2023 · 58 games
332 tackles, 28 TFL, 8.5 sacks, 4 INT

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

What this pick usually becomes

Of the 549 players taken as a late Day 3 pick between 2012 and 2021, 15% earned a second contract and 9% became starters. The median one started 0 career games.

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