The NFL Draft is an exciting time for football fans, and it’s especially exciting for the San Francisco 49ers, who have a lot of needs to address on the defensive side of the ball. Here are a few prospects who could potentially fill those holes:1. Defensive Tackle: Jermaine Robinson (Texas A&M): The 49ers need someone who can play at 5-technique if their Wide-Nine defensive front is going to work. That’s what Arik Armstead (and paid as) before the Niners moved him to defensive tackle, and the team’s run defense suffered. Robinson provides an answer here, as he can play every technique on the line at a high level. He’s massive at 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds but can move like a much smaller man. Slide him inside or outside and he’ll win, and his strength and ability to control blockers will be a welcome addition to a line that has become too agility-based in recent seasons.2. Defensive End: Nolan Smith (Georgia): In a class full of projects and projections, Smith is a professional. His knock in the SEC was that he didn’t play with a consistent motor — that he’d flash greatness and then fade away. Well, seeing as he’d be a late-round pick, no one will be putting him on the field for all three downs, so a lacking motor doesn’t seem like a concern to me. I choose to focus on what Smith can do, which is win reps off the edge and slide inside in one-gap pass-rush downs. That’s something the 49ers could use.3. Defensive Tackle: Calijah Kancey (Pittsburgh): A perfect fit for the 49ers’ one-gap front, Kancey has a blazing first step and the kind of tenacity that will put him in the backfield repeatedly at the NFL level. The athletic testing numbers don’t say much, but the tape speaks volumes. At 366 pounds, he is a one-man run defense. While a player of this size will be a departure for the Niners, it could be a welcome change, as Kancey also can shed blockers at a high level and make flash plays comparable to any pass rusher in this class.4. Linebacker: Harold Perkins (LSU): This is a bad linebacker class and while the Niners certainly won’t draft a linebacker early, they should not even consider any player in the top-100. My favorite linebacker in this class, Perkins registered more than 100 tackles in each of his last three college seasons. He sees the ball and gets the ball, showing elite instinct and range in both the pass and run game. He’s considered a bit small and perhaps not as strong as he should be. I don’t see how that should overrule three years of exceptional play in a top conference. Perkins is going to be a stud—there’s no reason to overthink it.5. Cornerback: Deone Walker (Kentucky): An elite coverage man and a sure tackler, he’s the truth anywhere you put Walker. And that versatility only makes him more valuable. If the Niners are lucky enough to have him fall to them at the end of the first round, they should take less than 5 seconds to call in the pick. Walker was the best cornerback on the best defense in America, going up against the best receivers in the nation in the SEC (if you doubt that statement, wait until next year’s draft class). At a certain point last season, teams stopped throwing it his way altogether.
49ers Football: Draft Prospects to Watch on Defense
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