The San Francisco 49ers began their pre-draft visits recently, with general manager John Lynch telling KNBR that the team had a visitor on Thursday. It sounds like they will have multiple visits on Friday, and one of them will be Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan.
Foster has been projected by some as one of the best defensive prospects in the draft, with some mock drafts linking him to the 49ers at No. 2. However, rotator cuff surgery this offseason followed by his incident with a hospital worker at the NFL Combine has raised some questions.
I imagine a visit with Foster is primarily going to focus on his shoulder and other injuries, as well as the incident at the Combine hospital. I would think there will be some film work and other discussions, but those would seemingly be the two big things that teams will want to get more information on in a pre-draft visit.
Foster’s subsequent fit is an interesting one. His NFL.com profile suggests weak side linebacker in a 4-3 defense. The 49ers just signed Malcolm Smith to a sizable contract to likely play on the weak side. The 49ers can afford dead money hits in the near future, but they could also find some ways to get creative with their new linebackers if Foster ended up a serious option at No. 2.