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2017 NFL Draft: Post-Super Bowl Mock for All 32 Teams

By Peter Panacy

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the start of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the start of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 31, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Reuben Foster (10) looks on during warm-ups prior to the 2016 CFP Semifinal against the Washington Huskies at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Reuben Foster (10) looks on during warm-ups prior to the 2016 CFP Semifinal against the Washington Huskies at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

42. . Inside Linebacker. Alabama. Reuben Foster. 5. player

The 49ers have so many needs, that trading down from No. 2 to acquire another first-round pick makes too much sense.

Offense figures to be a priority in new head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system. But general manager John Lynch is of the defensive mindset, and he looks to plug up San Francisco’s biggest weakness last year — the run defense — with as stout a player as there can be at linebacker.

Alabama’s Reuben Foster.

Related Story: Why Reuben Foster Is a Must-Draft Player

Foster is a freakish athlete capable of plugging interior run gaps, converging to the outside and adequately covering receivers in space.

With Foster on board, the Niners would have yet another stellar inside linebacker tandem, pairing the Alabama rookie with perennial All-Pro NaVorro Bowman.