The San Francisco 49ers have some questions in the pass rush, and Thursday evening, they spoke with a potential option at the 2016 NFL Combine. Virginia Tech defensive end/outside linebacker Dadi Nicolas told the media that he spoke with the 49ers, likely among other teams.
Matt Maiocco was involved in Dadi's press conference, and he passed along this interesting nugget:
A scout tells me he believes Dadi Nicolas (Va. Tech) is best pure pass rusher in draft. The #49ers met with him last night, Nicolas said.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) February 26, 2016
Nicolas is listed at NFL.com as a defensive end, and at CBSSports.com as an outside linebacker. Scouting reports point to a guy with great speed and quickness, and great foot. The problem in coming to the NFL is going to be size. He measured in at 6'3, 235 pounds. The 49ers outside linebackers are in the 260s, and generally speaking pass rushers are going to be bigger than that.
Given how important Nicolas's speed is to his game, it is possible the 49ers could view him as a guy they move inside. I suppose it is also possible they could decide to move him back to a safety role. Whatever the case, he seems likely to be playing a different position in the NFL than in college.