SF 49ers: Rethinking top 2021 NFL Draft needs halfway through season
By Peter Panacy
SF 49ers NFL Draft Need No. 3: EDGE
Yes, San Francisco has invested heavily in its defensive line the past few years. Yes, the team hopes its starting tandem of outside edge rushers, Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, return fully healthy in 2021.
But injuries to both this season, paired with depth defensive end Ronald Blair still recovering from a 2019 ACL tear, have left the SF 49ers awfully shorthanded in the pass-rush department. Instead of Bosa, Ford and defensive end Arik Armstead tallying up the sack totals, the Niners have been forced to rely more on less-known players, including EDGEs Kerry Hyder and Dion Jordan, while also trading with the NY Jets for an underachieving EDGE, Jordan Willis.
Combined, San Francisco has 12 sacks entering Week 8, a far split-cry from where the 49ers finished a year ago (48).
Blair and Hyder are going to be free agents in 2021, and the Niners may be hard-pressed to re-sign both. And while this isn’t going to be a first- or second-round need, it would be extremely valuable for San Francisco to reinforce its pass-rushing depth behind the trio of Bosa, Ford and Armstead next season.
2020’s injury attrition has already proven why that’s important.
Some mid- to late-round EDGEs to watch in the 2021 draft include:
- Kwity Paye, Michigan
- Joe Tryon, Washington
- Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
- Malcolm Koonce, Buffalo
- Xavier Thomas, Clemson