San Francisco 49ers need an upgrade at SAM linebacker over Eli Harold
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers haven’t received anything special from SAM linebacker Eli Harold this season, putting this position on the team’s long list of upgrade needs.
Third-year San Francisco 49ers SAM linebacker Eli Harold managed to win the starting job over the veteran, Ahmad Brooks, in training camp and preseason in 2017, which resulted in the Niners parting ways with their longest-tenured defender prior to the start of the regular season.
It paralleled head coach Kyle Shanahan’s decision to go with the youth movement in Santa Clara.
The only problem, though, is Harold hasn’t exactly delivered desired results.
San Francisco 49ers
Harold, a Round 3 pickup by the Niners in the 2015 NFL Draft, remains one of the handful of former general manager Trent Baalke’s holdovers. Current GM John Lynch has had no reservations about letting go many of Baalke’s picks, and it’s a real possibility Harold winds up being the next to get the ax.
Such a move would probably happen this offseason, perhaps even into training camp. But let’s look at why.
Underachieving Numbers for Eli Harold
Harold’s standard stats certainly don’t jump off the table. He’s played in all 10 of the Niners games this year but has just 16 tackles — 14th on defense — and a single sack.
All this has come on 348 snaps. And his overall Pro Football Focus season grade stands at a lowly 45.7.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Baalke certainly hoped Harold would be an effective pass-rusher at the next level, likely basing this notion on the 17.5 total sacks he had over three years at Virginia.
The problem, though, is it just hasn’t materialized.
Still, Harold is seeing snaps simply because the 49ers don’t exactly have other likable options. Fellow linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong has seen a decrease in playing time, while perennial special teams ace Brock Coyle has seen his role on the defense increase.
San Francisco’s lone long-term solution at linebacker consists of Reuben Foster and the injured Malcolm Smith (pectoral).
That leaves SAM as the position needing attention.
Clemson’s Dorian O’Daniel an Option for the 49ers in the NFL Draft?
I was talking with an ACC buddy of mine about some possible replacements for Harold in the 2018 NFL Draft, and the name that kept coming up was Clemson linebacker Dorian O’Daniel.
O’Daniel, a 6-foot-1 and 215-pound prospect, was recently named a finalist for the 2017 Butkus award, given to the top collegiate linebacker in the nation. Checking out the video below, it’s easy to see how O’Daniel handles his own against the run and is solid in pass coverage:
And the fact he has five sacks this season and counting suggests he can offer up something in the pass rush too.
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NFLDraftScout.com pegs O’Daniel as a Round 4 prospect, although it wouldn’t be a shock to see his stock rise between now and April’s draft. But if he’s on the boards for one of the 49ers’ two picks in, let’s say, Round 3… well, there you go.
San Francisco would be lucky to grab a player like O’Daniel, but we’ll see what happens during the draft and the months leading up to it.
Next: 49ers' options to replace NaVorro Bowman in the 2018 NFL Draft
But if the Niners want to make some improvements within the linebacker corps, they’ll need to find an upgrade over Harold this offseason.