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Will the 49ers Balk at Drafting a Defensive Tackle in Round 1?

It's a deep draft for defensive tackles. The 49ers can tell themselves that they can find instant contributors in Rounds 2 and 3, and they're probably right about that.

Grant Cohn

Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch before the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch before the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
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The weakest position on the 49ers is defensive tackle.

They currently have zero starting-caliber players at the position on their roster after releasing both Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins this offseason. Theoretically, they could spend their first- and second-round draft picks on DTs considering they need two Day 1 starters. But the 49ers might choose to address another position with their first-round pick.

Here's why.

First, it's a deep draft for defensive tackles. The 49ers can tell themselves that they can find instant contributors in Rounds 2 and 3, and they're probably right about that.

But here's the bigger issue. Under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers have spent two high first-round picks on defensive tackles -- Solomon Thomas and Javon Kinlaw -- and neither player panned out for the 49ers. Both were massive busts.

Which means the 49ers could be skittish about drafting another defensive tackle with their first-round pick. They're entering Year 9 of their tenure and they're coming off a 6-11 season -- they have to get this pick right. And they can't feel confident about picking another defensive tackle high in the draft.

That's why the 49ers ultimately could decide to spend their first-round pick on the best player available, whether it's a cornerback, a safety, a linebacker, an offensive lineman, or even a wide receiver. And then they could spend their second-round pick and two third-round picks on defensive linemen.

Something to think about.

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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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