The 49ers’ list of needs in the 2019 draft starts unequivocally with an edge rusher. Their inability to affect quarterbacks from the outside was perhaps the biggest hinderance to their defensive success this season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan put it on par with quarterback for the most important position on the field. However, it is not a foregone conclusion that they attack that position in the first round of next year’s draft. The latest Draft Wire Round 1 projections have the 49ers passing on their top need to select the best player available – Alabama defensive lineman Quinnen Williams.
It’s hard to imagine the 49ers going with another interior defensive lineman with first-round picks DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead and Solomon Thomas all eating snaps. However, San Francisco is in a position with their roster that would justify taking talent over need.
The 49ers simply don’t have enough impact players on either side of the ball, and Williams could wind up being a game wrecker on the interior. He’s just a redshirt-sophomore and is perhaps the most dominant player on a sensational Crimson Tide defense. Williams in just his second season has 18 tackles-for-loss and 8.0 sacks to go along with 66 total tackles. That’s big-time production for an interior defensive lineman.
Williams is 6-3, 285 pounds, and he has a motor to match his immense talent. There’s no guarantee Williams winds up declaring for the draft since he has two years of eligibility left, but his production and skill set will make him a surefire top-five pick in the 2019 draft.
San Francisco is slated to pick No. 2 overall next year, and would probably prefer to fill their need on the edge. It would certainly make sense. Nick Bosa is off the board first in this mock, but players like Kentucky’s Josh Allen and Clemson’s Clelin Ferrell are both available. Value for them may be shoddy at the No. 2 pick, but they’re good players who justifiably fill a position of need for the 49ers.
On the other hand, names like Aaron Donald are being whispered early in the draft process when it comes to Williams. Expecting any player to reach Donald’s level is probably unfair given how dominant he is, but the 49ers (and every team) would gladly take a player who is even 75 percent as productive as the Rams’ All-Pro defensive tackle.
The 2017 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles showed the value of having a deep, relentless defensive line rotation. A scenario where the 49ers have Williams and Buckner along the front with a rotation of Armstead, Thomas and Ronald Blair could make life easier for any edge rusher who’s added in free agency or later in the draft.
Continuing to build on the defensive line feels like a sideways move for the 49ers, but Williams may wind up being too special to pass over at the No. 2 pick.
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