SANTA CLARA — Day 1 brought a defensive end. Day 2, three more defenders. Day 3 opened Saturday with ... the drafting of another reinforcement to the 49ers’ once-gutted defense.

The 49ers took defensive tackle C.J. West with the 113th pick — 11 spots into Saturday’s fourth round.

The only other draft in 49ers history when their first five picks brought only defensive players was in 1981, when rookie defensive backs Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson helped key their first Super Bowl-winning season.

West came across confident after his selection.

“My bread and butter is at the 1-technique. That’s where I just abuse centers, punch ’em in the face, be as violent as possible, and just cause havoc down there in the middle,” West said on a video conference call with 49ers reporters.

The 49ers paused their defensive rebuild to draft Mississippi wide receiver Jordan Watkins (fourth round) and Oregon running back Jordan James (fifth round). Then came the fastest safety at the scouting combine, Kansas State’s Marques Sigle (fifth round).

The 49ers next drafted a quarterback for the first time since Brock Purdy, and again it came in the seventh round: Kurtis Rourke, who is 10 months younger than Purdy and figures to redshirt his rookie year, recovering from ACL surgery.

Rounding out the 11-man draft class — the largest in general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan’s nine-year tenure — were Iowa guard Connor Colby and Montana return specialist Junior Bergen.

“It was a very important draft. We haven’t been in a situation like this,” Shanahan said, referring to last month’s roster purge. “That’s why it was a little bit more nerve-wracking, because we were counting on getting a lot of guys instead of coming in there just trying to add depth. Each one felt just as important as the next one.”

One area the 49ers did not address was swing tackle, having lost Jaylon Moore in free agency to Kansas City. Pending a free agent arrival, the 49ers’ in-house options are converting Spencer Burford from guard and challenging him with Austen Pleasants.

Over the previous two days, defensive players came with all four of the 49ers’ picks: defensive end Mykel Williams (first round, 11th overall), defensive tackle Alfred Collins (second round, No. 43), linebacker Nick Martin (third round, No. 75) and cornerback Upton Stout (third round, No. 100).

West (6-foot-1, 316 pounds) transferred to Indiana last year after four seasons at Kent State. He and Collins help fill the interior’s void created by last month’s release of Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins.

“Me transferring was to put everybody on notice that I can do what I do at every level, to show everybody I’m a player, I’m a dog and I’m violent when I play football,” West said.

Rourke texted West later Saturday to inform him they’d be staying teammates, with the 49ers using the No. 227 pick on a quarterback who says he’s in a “good spot” and will follow the 49ers medical staff’s plan for knee recovery. Despite that torn ACL in his right knee, he led Indiana to a school-record 11 wins, threw for 3,042 yards and placed ninth in the Heisman voting.

As for any inspiration he takes as a seventh-round pick like Purdy, Rourke said: “They developed him into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. So I’m excited to be a part of that, be in the organization and follow that path as well.”

A future target for his passes is Watkins. He clocked a 4.37-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine and took a pre-draft visit to the 49ers, where he graded his own game film (he gave himself an 8 for blocking). Watkins played two years at Louisville before transferring to Mississippi, where he had 906 yards and nine touchdown catches in pairing with Jaxson Dart, a first-round draft pick by the New York Giants.

“I don’t think I’d be in this position without him, just because he trusts me and gets me the ball. I definitely owe him a lot,” Watkins said of Dart.

Two spots before Watkins’ selection, Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor went to the Tennessee Titans.

James, a 15-touchdown rusher at Oregon last year, came in the fifth-round spot (No. 147 overall) that the 49ers got in last month’s trade of Deebo Samuel to Washington. While James ran the 40-yard dash in a so-so 4.55 seconds, he crossed the goal line plenty for Oregon (31 rushing touchdowns in 38 games).

“I like to think I’m pretty good at that. I’m just trying to get in the end zone,” James said. “I want to be explosive in everything I do.”

Sigle’s 4.37-second 40-yard dash was the fastest among safeties at the scouting combine, but he also sees himself as versatile enough to play cornerback. He was a two-year starter at Kansas State after transferring from North Dakota State, where he witnessed quarterback Trey Lance’s rise to the 49ers’ 2021 first-round pick.

“It just tells you that when it’s time, it’s time to be ready for it. He was ready for it, and now I’m here so I’m ready for it,” Sigle said.

The 49ers did not address their offensive line until their penultimate pick, that being the 6-foot-6 Colby, who lined up at right guard in 37 of his 50 starts at Iowa. Finishing out the draft class was Bergen, who returned eight punts for touchdowns at Montana and averaged a school record 16.7 yards per punt return.

The 90-man roster has room to sign six undrafted free agents, and already linked to the 49ers are Cincinnati running back Corey Kiner, BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson and Colorado State guard Drew Moss.

Rookie minicamp will be in two weeks. The voluntary offseason program began this past Tuesday for returning veterans, and tight end George Kittle joined in on Friday.

MUSTAPHA ON MEND

It turns out the 49ers defense was decimated more than they let on. It’s been revealed that safety Malik Mustapha is recovering from his second anterior cruciate ligament repair in three years.

Mustapha’s ACL tear was confirmed in an MRI exam days after he got hurt in the 49ers’ Jan. 6 season finale, although the team did not disclose it publicly then or throughout this offseason. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported it first after Saturday’s draft concluded, and a team spokesman confirmed Mustapha’s plight.

Mustapha’s hard-hitting style vaulted him into the starting lineup last season as a rookie.

Mustapha, as ESPN reported, tore the graft from his 2022 ACL repair, from which he returned to play 10 games in 2023 for Wake Forest. This past January’s MRI revealed Mustapha required a second ACL surgery, and his meniscus and cartilage were unscathed.

With Ji’Ayir Brown set to return for his third season as a potential starter, the 49ers signed two veteran safeties last month in free agency —Jason Pinnock (New York Giants) and Richie Grant (Atlanta Falcons). They did not draft a safety the fifth round, when they took Kansas State’s Marques Sigle.