San Francisco 49ers: A few solid options with ninth-overall pick

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San Francisco 49ers /

Tremaine Edmunds

The same situation with Roquan Smith applies to Edmunds as well. Lynch and Shanahan could opt to take Edmunds, who, by most accounts, is the consensus top linebacker in this year’s draft class for the same reasons they could choose Smith.

And sitting at number nine, there’s a good chance the 49ers will have their pick of the two.

Eventually, San Francisco is going to need to upgrade their linebackers group. Eli Harold, Dekoda Watson, and Malcolm Smith are fine for the moment. But, they’re going to need a long-term solution. A foundation built upon Foster and either Edmunds or Smith would be a very solid solution for the long-term.

In Edmunds, they’ll get a beast of a man. Six-foot-five and 253 pounds, Edmunds is solid muscle from head to toe. He’s got very good straight line speed for a man his size – 4.5 in the 40, and put up 19 reps on the bench.

He’s got great sideline-to-sideline speed and is a violent tackler. He’ll intimidate people, there’s no question. He’s an elite athlete who is going to make some noise on the NFL level.

If there’s a knock to be had on Edmunds, it’s that some scouts cite a lack of patience and pure instinct on his part. With his speed, he can sometimes take himself out of a play by overrunning it, or by not being able to diagnose it quickly and getting caught up in the wash. He’s also shown, from time to time, to have mental lapses in coverage.

But, those scouts believe his elite athleticism can help him make up for some of those deficiencies as well.

There’s no question the 49ers have a need at linebacker. And picking either Edmunds or Smith at nine, and pairing him with Foster – if indeed, it all works out and they can pair them together – would lay a solid foundation for years to come.