After taking Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams with the 11th overall pick in the 2025 draft on Thursday night, the San Francisco 49ers kept it simple again to start Day 2 by taking Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins at No. 43.
Collins is a massive man (6-foot-6, 332 pounds), a proverbial "immovable object," with arm length befitting an edge rusher (34 and 5/8 inches; Williams' arms are 34 and 3/8 inches). He needs to evolve as a pass-rusher, but he's a productive run stuffer (55 total tackles last season), and he had seven pass breakups last season as well.
The Niners turned over their defensive tackle position this offseason by releasing Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins. Replacements for them were not going to ultimately be settled for from internal options, and a notable free-agent signing was, of course, not coming amid this offseason's cost-cutting measures.
Drafting of Alfred Collins officially pushes Jordan Elliott out of 49ers starting lineup
Hargrave missed all but three games last season due to a partially torn right triceps. So by default Jordan Elliott started 13 games, and he played a critical role in a 49ers' run defense that was 18th in the league by yardage allowed (124.6 per game) and allowed 24 touchdowns on the ground (tied for second-most in the league).
Over 441 defensive snaps last season, Elliott was not noticeable in any positive way (19 total tackles, zero sacks, 47.6 overall Pro Football Focus grade; 97th out of 118 qualifiers).
Also, by default, Elliott was a (tentatively) projected starter at defensive tackle for San Francisco in 2025 after Hargrave and Collins were let go. It was a matter of when, not if, an actual starting-caliber defensive tackle was drafted, and general manager John Lynch wasted no time getting it done as soon as it was viable.
The 49ers needed to remodel the defense after last season's struggles, and the exodus of talent in free agency was the start to the process. Now it's about replacing people via the draft, including those who stayed put and were left behind as projected starters.
Elliott can now settle into the role he belongs in if a team has a suitable interior defensive line: a little-used backup, as Collins steps right into a big role.