Former Notre Dame WR Will Pauling signs undrafted free agent deal with San Francisco 49ers

Will Pauling didn’t get selected in the 2026 NFL Draft but he’s going to have his shot at making a professional roster. The San Francisco 49ers came to an undrafted free agent deal with Pauling on Saturday, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Pauling only played one season at Notre Dame, but it was a good one. The wide receiver caught 26 passes for 381 yards and 6 touchdowns in 12 games. He ranked fifth, fourth and first among all Irish pass catchers in those respective categories.

Notre Dame lost starting slot receiver Jaden Greathouse for the season after four games in 2025, and Pauling stepped up as a go-to option for first-year starting quarterback CJ Carr. Carr spread the ball to a lot of targets in his redshirt freshman season, but Pauling always seemed to be someone who was good for a big play in any given game.

Pauling arrived at Notre Dame after two seasons at Wisconsin, which followed two seasons at Cincinnati. He followed wide receivers coach Mike Brown from Cincinnati to Wisconsin. Then eventually reunited with him at Notre Dame to finish his college career with the man who taught him the most during it.

In 48 career games, Pauling caught 155 passes for 1,753 yards and 15 touchdowns. At 5-10, 190 pounds, he doesn’t have quintessential NFL size. But he has an NFL-sized heart. It takes a lot for a non-quarterback transfer to earn Notre Dame team captain status, but Pauling’s teammates voted him in as one of six captains last season. He made such a strong impression in a few short months that the masses felt like he was definitely someone deserving of repping the “C” on his game jerseys.

What’s it mean for his prospects of playing pro ball longterm? We’ll have to wait and see. All someone like Pauling needs is a foot in the door, though. He’s the type of player who makes the most of any opportunity. An opportunity like this one? He has no choice but to do all he can to stick around.

It’s the only way he knows.