49ers land top pass rusher in Draft Network mock

Inclement weather for Wednesday’s practice forced the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff and the rest of the Senior Bowl indoors. With most of the media excluded for the day, the Draft Network, on-site in Mobile, Alabama, took it upon themselves to put together a live mock NFL Draft. It didn’t take long for the 49ers to strike gold.

Draft analyst Jon Ledyard pegged the Arizona Cardinals with Alabama defensive lineman Quinnen Williams at No. 1 overall. This left the door wide open for the 49ers and a pass rusher widely regarded as the draft’s best overall player, Ohio State’s Nick Bosa.

Fellow analyst Trevor Sikkema, who made the pick for the 49ers, had this to say on their selection of Nick Bosa:

“He’s perfect for what the 49ers want to do. They have a lot of talent along that defensive line but they don’t have this piece. This could be the piece that really puts them over the top, helps that secondary get those turnovers and turns this defense around pretty quickly. Nick Bosa as an edge defender makes total sense for San Francisco no matter what they want to do.”

This is the dream scenario for general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers land the draft’s top player at a clear position of need among a defense that’s struggled to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks the last two seasons.

In 29 games, Bosa totaled 77 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks and two forced fumbles for the Buckeyes. He’d be an every-down pass rusher in Robert Saleh’s 4-3 defensive scheme and an ideal complement to 49ers defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, who totaled 12 sacks in 2018.

Bosa’s production is made more impressive considering his junior season was cut short after suffering an abdominal injury against TCU in Week 3. Rather than rehabilitate and return to Ohio State later in the year, Bosa opted to forgo the rest of the season and prepare for the NFL Draft. The decision hasn’t damaged his draft stock.

The 49ers’ next chance to see Bosa on the field will be at the NFL Combine beginning on February 26th.

You can watch the mock via the tweet below. If it doesn’t appear you can go here.