One of the San Francisco 49ers' many defensive problems a year ago was stopping the run, particularly on the inside of the box.
So, it wasn't a shock to see the Niners invest in their defensive line interior over the offseason, trading for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa and then using an early day-three draft pick on Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton.
An under-the-radar move immediately after the draft, though, could eventually pay some positive dividends: inking the undrafted defensive tackle out of Tennessee, Bryson Eason.
Eason, 6-foot-2 and 323 pounds, is built like the prototypical 1-technique nose tackle that would've previously been a featured part in former coordinator Robert Saleh's defense; a short and squatty presence who'd close off rushing lanes and force opposing runners to go somewhere else.
Under new coordinator Raheem Morris, that deployment wouldn't be wholly different, but that doesn't exactly translate to Eason becoming an integral part of San Francisco's defense anytime soon.
Bryson Eason will need to be more than just a good run defender to make 49ers roster
Nearly every scouting report out there on Eason will tout his run-stopping abilities, and that alone gives him a good deal of value. Yet the 49ers are already hoping for their more prominent new arrivals, Odighizuwa and Halton, to shore up that element of their defense while looking to get more out of second-year pros, Alfred Collins and C.J. West.
A problem facing Eason is that depth interior run stoppers are, proverbially, a dime a dozen; not hard to find on the open market.
What he'll need to set himself apart here is the ability to develop something of a pass rush, and it's not his true forte.
Granted, Eason had 11.5 tackles for a loss over the last two years, so there's evidence of him being able to get into the backfield with some regularity. And if he can showcase an ability to be an interior disruptor who opens up opportunities for other pass-rushers, it'll be just as well, too.
Yet that's not exactly his game, which points to the rookie likely being little more than an experimental flier upon whom the Niners do little more than hinge some long-term hopes, should he be adequate enough to stash on the practice squad.
At least there's that to fight for.
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