2017 49ers NFL Draft Prologue: Run D Supreme, the Reuben Foster Connection
By Jonah Burros
Niner Noise takes a look at what might happen should the San Francisco 49ers take Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster in Round 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft.
The San Francisco 49ers had a lot of issues across the board in 2016. But inarguably, their last-place run defense was the most damaging.
If an opponent can sustain drives and consume the clock with large running plays consistently, you simply cannot win.
Poor Niners defensive line and linebacker play equated to an invitation for teams to open up their run-game playbooks with great effect. And the 49ers didn’t have the offensive wherewithal to counteract what other teams’ offenses were trying to do.
San Francisco 49ers
Head coach Kyle Shanahan likes to be varied with his play-calling and keep defenses guessing. Fighting the clock all the time can ruin your day in this case. Both sides of the ball need the team to earn some respect from opposing club’s run games.
In 2007, the 49ers faced the same problem, ranking 25th in total defense and giving up 118 yards per game on the ground.
Over the following three years, San Francisco added Justin Smith, Isaac Sapoaga and Ray McDonald on the defensive line, while stacking the middle linebacker corps with Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.
By 2011 this group provided the No. 1 rushing defense in the league (77 yards per game) and the fourth defense overall. San Francisco brought in D-line players who could eat up blocks, while their swarming linebackers destroyed ball-carriers.
Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have done a lot to stock the bench in free agency, but nothing that would be considered a huge move to address the historically bad run defense.
And 28-year-old inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman has had two major injuries over the last three years. But he is still relatively young, hardworking and committed enough to still be considered the best player on the team. He is signed for the long term and should still prove to be a focal point in our team’s defensive plans.
Bowman is effectively the “Willis” of the team now. And, with the switch to the 4-3 under, could clean up loose running backs all day long with improved D-line play.
The two things he needs to get over the top is improved defensive line play and a partner in crime.
The 49ers have invested heavily in the D-line in the draft the past two years, with Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner, who both show a lot of promise at the three and five techniques. Bowman still needs a running mate, and San Francisco could provide that through the draft.
Enter Reuben Foster, an inside linebacker prospect from the University of Alabama, a central cog in the best defense in college last year.
Foster is a player who has captivated fans and analysts with a punishing tackling style that put the nation on notice. His tangibles are good, and he is considered a three-down player. But the sheer violence, punishment and weaponized form of his tackling are what places him at the top of the mountain at his position.
When I watch his footage, I tend to equate him to running backs kicking in the front door of a defensive line only to find a shotgun in their face. This guy is “Sawed-Off”.
In my opinion, Foster represents a potential force in the 49ers run defense alongside Bowman and a possible replacement during his rehab. His fluid draft ranking makes me think that if the 49ers were to take him with their first pick, San Francisco could get him with a slight trade down and pick up some extra selections.
I also believe, if we are to fully utilize Foster’s talents, the Niners should beef up the nose tackle group and get some talent at the zero technique. I would not be surprised to see Johnathan Hankins from the New York Giants, or a similar prospect from the draft, added if this is indeed the direction the 49ers go.
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Historically, Foster as San Francisco’s first pick makes sense if the team is to look at the large picture — a proven team formula that took the 49ers to the supreme position in run defense to the worst.
It took San Francisco three years to go from the bottom of the NFL in run defense to the top by adding certain position groups that had talent and fit in the scheme.
Once those same players were gone we are back in the basement, the pattern is prevalent. Could Reuben Foster take San Francisco off of the run defense “dollar menu?”
Next: Examining 49ers Mock Drafts from Analysts Around the League
If nothing else, this “Sawed Off” prospect would make running backs less bold.