San Francisco 49ers hosted top-30 visit with their perfect second-round fit in 2024 NFL Draft
The San Francisco 49ers' top-30 visits ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft concluded on Wednesday, bringing an end to a process that typically offers significant clues as to which prospects they will select. In the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era, excluding the COVID-19 years in which pre-draft visits were not permitted, the 49ers have […]
The San Francisco 49ers' top-30 visits ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft concluded on Wednesday, bringing an end to a process that typically offers significant clues as to which prospects they will select.
In the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era, excluding the COVID-19 years in which pre-draft visits were not permitted, the 49ers have selected 18 players with whom they held pre-draft visits.
The full list of visits for this year is not known, but The Athletic's Matt Barrows on Thursday reported a list of visits he was able to verify, and it included a few names not previously reported.
The most intriguing new name is Alabama edge rusher Chris Braswell.
I identified Braswell as the 49ers' perfect fit in the second round prior to the NFL Scouting Combine and maintained that stance after his workout in Indianapolis.
Braswell enjoyed a breakout year in his final season with Alabama, recording eight sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss.
He is an explosive pass rusher who gets off the ball extremely well and demonstrates an ability to convert speed to power and drive pass protectors back with his bull rush.
Braswell plays with good low pad level that helps him frequently win the leverage battle and does excellent work at the top of his rush.
Indeed, Braswell has a series of counters that enable him to disengage from blocks and redirect at the top of his rush. The cross-chop, swim and rip moves are all part of his repertoire, while he also has an effective forklift move.
Braswell is not the bendiest of edge rushers, but he has the flexibility to flatten to the quarterback when he beats tackles around the corner. At the same time, he has the quickness to win to the inside shoulder of pass protectors.
Many see Braswell as a better fit as a 3-4 outside linebacker at the next level. He often played in that role at Alabama, but also played with his hand in the dirt and operated both off the edge and the defensive interior.
And he is willing to embrace any role at the next level.
"I see myself as a defensive end, edge. I mean I can play anything," Braswell said at the Combine. "I can play outside linebacker, edge, put my hand in the dirt, stand up. It really doesn’t matter, whatever a team needs me for, I’ll be more than capable of doing whatever they need."
The 49ers greatly value versatility on the defensive front and, while there are concerns over his run defense, Braswell still has plenty of excellent tape in that area, particularly against Texas A&M and Ole Miss, games in which he showed his ability to consistently set the edge and produce dominant play against run-blocking position players.
With Leonard Floyd likely to start at edge rusher across from Nick Bosa, Braswell would enter an excellent situation if he were to be selected by San Francisco, one in which he could operate as a designated pass rusher on true passing downs as a rookie while learning from two tremendous veteran mentors.
Floyd is only a short-term solution for the Niners on the edge. With his excellent get-off and well-rounded pass-rush arsenal, Braswell has the potential be a long-term answer, and his visit to the 49ers suggests he is in the mix to potentially ascend to that role as a day-two selection.
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