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NFL Mock Draft: 49ers Take Michigan DT Kenneth Grant with 11th Pick

Grant would give the 49ers a three-down defensive tackle who fits their scheme. Those are rare.

Grant Cohn

Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant reaches out to sack Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the second quarter during the College Football Playoff national championship game against Washington at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.
Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant reaches out to sack Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the second quarter during the College Football Playoff national championship game against Washington at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. / Melanie Maxwell / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The 49ers defense was soft last season.

They couldn't stop the run between the tackles. That's why opposing running backs averaged a whopping 1.5 yards per carry before contact. They consistently had free access to the second level of the 49ers defense.

The first step to making the 49ers defense respectable again requires plugging the middle of the Wide 9 front so it doesn't part like the Red Sea.

So I projected the 49ers to take Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant with the 11th pick in the latest mock draft On SI.

"The 49ers might feel skittish about drafting another defensive tackle high in the first round after missing on Javon Kinlaw and Solomon Thomas, but they desperately need a plug-and-play DT after releasing both Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins this offseason," I wrote.

"Enter Grant, one of the best run defenders in the draft. At 6'4", 331 pounds, he’s built like Giants Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Ideally, the 49ers probably would prefer to trade down before taking Grant, but his stock could rise after his pro day on March 21. He did not run at the combine"

Grant would give the 49ers a three-down defensive tackle who fits their scheme. Those are rare.

If the 49ers decide to draft a player at a different position, they could look to draft two-down defensive tackles later in the draft. A two-down defensive tackle can stop the run but not rush the passer.

Even a two-down DT would help the 49ers tremendously. That's how depleted they are.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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