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Will the 49ers Draft Tennessee DE James Pearce Jr. in Round 1?

Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. might have the best get-off of any player in the NFL Draft. Plus he has long arms and plays with speed and power, not just one or the other.

Grant Cohn

Tennessee defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. (27) takes down Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff (12) during an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. (27) takes down Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff (12) during an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The 49ers defense could undergo a significant facelift this offseason.

Robert Saleh is back after four seasons as the Jets head coach and probably wants to remake the 49ers defense in his image. Which means he will have a big say in which player the 49ers draft in Round 1 if it's a defensive player. And given that the 49ers defense fell apart last season, it's probably safe to assume the 49ers will address that side of the ball with their first pick.

The 49ers could take a defensive tackle, but it's hard to find one who's big and strong enough to fit the Wide 9 defense. Michigan's Mason Graham would fit, but he might not be available when the 49ers are on the clock. Walter Nolen of Ole Miss is a terrific pass rusher, but at 293 pounds he might be too light to stop the run in the 49ers' system.

So instead of taking a defensive tackle in Round 1, the 49ers could take a defensive end, someone who could complement Nick Bosa long-term. The current starter opposite Bosa is Leonard Floyd, who will be a free agent next year.

If the 49ers take a defensive end in Round 1, they probably will take one with an explosive first step. That's because defensive line coach Kris Kocurek is obsessed with players who have fast "get-offs," as he puts it.

Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. might have the best get-off of any player in the NFL Draft. Plus he has long arms and plays with speed and power, not just one or the other. He seems like the kind of player Saleh would love.

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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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