The San Francisco 49ers like their outside linebackers in the 260s during the season, and it appears second year OLB Eli Harold is going to be right where he needs to be. Harold told the media on Thursday that he is currently weighing in at 270 pounds. His plan is to be at 265 pounds when the season arrives.
Harold weighed in at 247 pounds at the 2015 NFL Combine, and there were plenty of concerns about his size and strength. However, he told the media he changed his diet to help put on more muscle this offseason. It caused a bit of a strain with his back early on, but it sounds like he has grown comfortable with the added weight.
Pass rush is viewed as a big need for the 49ers in this year's draft. The team has Ahmad Brooks and Aaron Lynch as their likely starters, with Eli Harold as the primary backup. Tank Carradine has made the switch to outside linebacker, and is apparently looking slimmed down. Corey Lemonier, Ray-Ray Armstrong, and Marcus Rush also will be in the mix during the offseason and training camp.
I think we see the 49ers draft an outside linebacker this year, but the timing might tell us how much they expect out of Harold. You can never have enough pass rushers, and the potential release of Ahmad Brooks is always on the table, but maybe they expect big things from Harold.