5 moves the 49ers need to make this 2018 offseason
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Grab the Best Edge Rusher Available in the NFL Draft
The 49ers finished tied for 26th in the league with 30 sacks last year. And the defense’s leading sack specialist, EDGE Elvis Dumervil, had just 6.5. Dumervil just turned 34 years old too, meaning San Francisco needs to get much, much younger here.
Who knows whether or not converted LEO Arik Armstead, who missed most of 2017 with a hand injury, emerges as a legitimate option here. One shouldn’t bank on it, though.
The thing to consider here is a quality edge bender is arguably the most important non-quarterback position on the field. And quality pass-rushers are like quality quarterbacks — both coveted and not exactly easy to find.
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Free agency might provide some options, although there are a good deal of promising EDGE players in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Atop the list is NC State’s Bradley Chubb. And while some may cringe at the 49ers taking another defensive lineman first overall for the fourth year in a row, not all defensive lineman are created equally. Someone off the edge is needed, and Chubb provides that.
The 49ers will hold either the No. 9 or No. 10 overall pick, depending on a coin flip with the Oakland Raiders at the NFL Scouting Combine. Chubb might not fall to San Francisco. But with a flurry of teams in need of quarterbacks — combined with a relatively deep QB prospect class — it’s not out of reach to imagine a player like Chubb falling.
Either way, expect the Niners to use one of their first two picks on a quality outside pass-rusher.