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49ers Could Draft Offensive Tackle with Knee Injury in Round 1

The 49ers could have an interesting choice to make with the 11th pick in Round 1.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 2, 2023; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Josh Simmons (71) lines up beside offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) during the NCAA football game at Indiana University Memorial Stadium. Ohio State won 23-3.
Sep 2, 2023; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Josh Simmons (71) lines up beside offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) during the NCAA football game at Indiana University Memorial Stadium. Ohio State won 23-3. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers could have an interesting choice to make with the 11th pick in Round 1.

It's possible Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons will be available, and he would be the top left tackle in the NFL Draft if healthy. In fact, he might even be a top-5 pick. But he could be available for the 49ers because he tore his patellar tendon in October and missed the rest of the season.

Still, ESPN's Field Yates projects the 49ers to take Simmons with the 11th pick.

"Trent Williams will be 37 years old in July and sat out seven games in 2024," writes Yates. "So if San Francisco wants to return to form and keep its contention window open, it must invest in the offensive line this offseason.

"Simmons is coming off a knee injury sustained in October, so his range is much wider than most prospects slotted this high -- medicals will be key for him. But if they check out throughout the process, Simmons' elite physical traits and quickness give him a chance to emerge as the best left tackle in the class.

"Learning from Williams would also be invaluable tutelage and buy San Francisco time if Simmons needs a longer recovery window (though he is expected to be fully cleared by training camp)."

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict there's absolutely zero chance the 49ers will draft Simmons or any player with a torn patellar tendon. That injury can be a career-ender. Former 49ers center Weston Richburg tore his patellar tendon in 2019 and never played again.

If the 49ers take an offensive tackle in Round 1, Kelvin Banks Jr. would be a much better pick.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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