Yes, you read that right. Since his junior year of high school, San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Arik Armstead has weighed more than 275 pounds!
Armstead is moving from interior defensive tackle in the base defense to the LEO position in the 49ers new-look 4-3 defense. He is still getting work inside in sub-packages, but the LEO role puts him in position to be that much more aggressive, and potentially rack up that many more sacks.
Armstead weighed in at 292 pounds at the NFL Combine prior to the 2015 NFL Draft. He has remained in the 290s to play the bigger 3-4 defensive tackle role. Now he is getting a new opportunity for this edge role that requires more speed. He has always had a significant combination of size and speed, but cutting down 15 pounds puts him in position to be that much more explosive off the edge.
Jennifer Chan grabbed this picture of Armstead on the field in full pads. He’s still a big man, but you can see the difference between him and DeForest Buckner. He’s still a huge guy, but I can’t wait to see what his speed looks like now.
With football pants on you can see @arikarmstead's leaner shape. More noticeable now. #49ers pic.twitter.com/hsd7OKMIkl
— Jennifer Lee Chan (@jenniferleechan) July 30, 2017