49ers Pick Explosive Edge Rusher in New Mock Draft

The 49ers have been searching for a speed rusher to complement Nick Bosa since they traded for Dee Ford five years ago.

Ford never panned out for the 49ers, so they signed Samson Ebukam, whom they replaced with Drake Jackson, whom they replaced with Chase Young, whom they replaced with Leonard Floyd.

Now Robert Saleh is back in his second stint as the 49ers defensive coordinator, and I anticipate he will attempt to fill the speed rusher role once and for all. That's why I project the 49ers to pick Tennessee defensive end James Pearce with the 11th pick in the latest mock draft for On SI.

"The 49ers could take an offensive tackle, but they generally prefer to make big investments into their defensive line, which needs help, too," I wrote. "Pearce Jr. is arguably the most explosive edge rusher in the draft—he had 17.5 sacks the past two seasons compared to Abdul Carter’s 16.5."

The main knock on Pearce Jr. is that he's light for an edge rusher -- just 243 pounds. But Saleh might not care. Two years ago when he was the Jets head coach, he spent the 15th pick in the NFL draft on defensive end Will McDonald IV who's 239 pounds.

In the Wide 9 defense that Saleh uses, the defensive end lines up outside the tight end, which means he doesn't have to worry much about double teams and combination blocks, so he can be smaller. Saleh wants that player to burst into the backfield and blow up plays.