49ers NFL Draft: 10 high-profile picks who never panned out

49ers Defensive End Tank Carradine, Florida State

Selected No. 40 Overall in the 2013 NFL Draft

If you thought the 49ers were getting a steal in Round 2 of the 2013 NFL Draft when they drafted Florida State defensive end Tank Carradine, you probably weren’t alone.

After all, before suffering a torn ACL late in the season that year, Carradine had amassed an impressive 11 sacks his senior year before declaring for the draft. And with the Niners already loaded with talent entering the 2013 season, they could afford to redshirt Carradine for his rookie year and let him loose the following campaign.

But much like Solomon Thomas, Carradine got off to an awfully slow start when he was finally placed on the field. For starters, he was a 4-3 defensive end being asked to play in a 3-4 front under then-defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and Fangio repeatedly indicated Carradine needed a lot of adjustment after making too many mental mistakes.

And by the time Carradine had finally cut his proverbial “NFL teeth,” he was merely established as a quality run defender and not the prolific pass-rusher San Francisco had initially envisioned.

Carradine managed to hang around with the 49ers for five seasons, though, eventually moving on after 2017. Also like Thomas, though, Carradine’s stat line with the Niners wasn’t impressive: 76 tackles, zero quarterback hits and 5.5 sacks over 44 games played, only eight of them starts.

While Carradine should be considered a bust, his ACL tear certainly didn’t help, and many of us fans thought he’d be much more impactful a player than he turned out to be.