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49ers Pick Michigan Defensive Tackle Kenneth Grant in New Mock Draft

Grant certainly has the size and athleticism the 49ers want from their defensive tackles
Grant Cohn|
Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (78) celebrates a tackle against USC during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (78) celebrates a tackle against USC during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers always want to have at least one dominant defensive tackle.

That's why they gave Javon Hargrave $21 million per season. They thought he could replace DeForest Buckner whom they foolishly traded to the Colts during his prime. Now the 49ers plan to release Hargrave this offseason after two unspectacular seasons with the team. Which means the 49ers probably want to take a defensive tackle with the 11th pick.

That's why The 33rd Team's Kyle Crabbs projects the 49ers to pick Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant in Round 1.

"San Francisco's identity on defense has long been built with a formidable defensive line," writes Crabbs. "The unit has suffered due to aging, attrition, and injuries — plus Javon Hargrave is scheduled to be a free agent.

"If the team wants to make a successful transition amid the rising costs of their veteran players, drafting Kenneth Grant to serve as the new anchor in the middle makes sense. He's got freakish athleticism and the ability to be a true, three-down terror."

Grant certainly has the size and athleticism the 49ers want from their defensive tackles. And the fact that they have defensive line coach Kris Kocurek could entice them to draft Grant, who has lots of potential if the right person can coach him up. Kocurek is considered to be one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL and the 49ers think highly of him.

If he wants Grant, I imagine the 49ers will take him.

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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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