49ers virtually meet with two potential second-round defensive lineman

Throw the 30 visit limit out of the window. Now that the San Francisco 49ers aren’t able to have face-to-face visits, we see a long list of virtual meetups with potential prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Athletic’s Matt Barrows had two new names that we can add to the list. Penn State edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos and Missouri’s defensive tackle Jordan Elliott. If you’re reading in between the lines, both players are predicted to go early in the second round. The 49ers don’t have a second-round pick. Not yet, anyway.

Barrows said that Elliott was scheduled to visit Santa Clara before the coronavirus concerns. Elliott finished as PFF’s highest-graded defensive tackle. I’ve watched one game of the 6-4, 302-pound interior rusher and came away a bit disappointed. Elliott looked like a first-round pick in the first quarter. As the game wore on, he made fewer plays. Elliott disappeared from the start of the third quarter to the final possession of the fourth. Then he was involved in five plays. Three of those were positive, and the other two were offsides penalties that helped the offense get first downs and ice the game.

Yetur Gross-Matos is 6’5”, 266 pounds, but has the long frame that the 49ers seem to covet with 34 7/8” arms. SIS’s rookie handbook loves him and graded Gross-Matos higher than bigger names like A.J. Epenesa and K’Lavonn Chaisson. Here is their blurb:

Gross-Matos has an ideal blend of length, burst, balance, and pass-rush upside for a defensive end, and with further coaching and development can become a high-level edge rusher.

Gross-Matos projects best as a weakside defensive end in a four-man front on an attacking defense. He has some ability to stand up and could grow into such a role if necessary. On third down, he can speed rush off the edge or reduce inside to take advantage of mismatches.

Arik, is that you?