The 49ers need an edge rusher. Whether it comes via free agency, the draft, or both, they have to acquire a player who can get to opposing quarterbacks off the edge. They were very likely to select one with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, but news Monday of franchise tags being placed on most of the top free agent edge rushers highlighted the importance of April’s draft to filling the massive hole on the end of the 49ers’ defensive line.
Dee Ford, Jadeveon Clowney, Frank Clark and Demarcus Lawrence all received franchise tags the day before the deadline to use them. Tags take them off the market for this offseason and badly diminish the quality of this year’s free agent class of edge rushers.
The 49ers may still use their ample salary cap space to snag one of the pass rushers that are available, but the lack of an elite talent at the position means they can’t afford to overlook the position with their first pick (No. 2 overall) in the draft.
This isn’t any sort of surprise. The market for dominant pass rushers will never be deep given the position’s importance. That importance though is the same reason San Francisco has to swing for one at the top of the draft. They need talent on the edge. It’s a near requirement for defensive success in the modern NFL. The 49ers’ leading edge rusher in terms of sacks a season ago was Cassius Marsh with 5.5. They simply need more productivity.
While it’s been assumed through most of the pre-draft process that an outside pass rusher would be the pick for San Francisco at No. 2, several mock drafts had them addressing other positions like defensive tackle. Some analysts floated the idea of a wide receiver at that spot. Perhaps that would’ve been the case if a dominant edge rusher in their prime had ducked the franchise tag and landed in Santa Clara in free agency. Now we know that’s not the case, and the 49ers’ options for acquiring a game-changing piece of their defense are limited to the draft.
It would’ve been a surprise if the 49ers addressed a different position even without the franchise tags on edge rushers. Now that feels like an impossibility.
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