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Is Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen the Perfect Pick for the 49ers in Round 1?

The 49ers need a three-down defensive tackle who can stuff the run and pressure the quarterback. And in 2024, Nolen was that player.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels defensive linemen Walter Nolen (2) and linebacker Suntarine Perkins (4) react after a sack during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels defensive linemen Walter Nolen (2) and linebacker Suntarine Perkins (4) react after a sack during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

One of the most popular picks for the 49ers in mock drafts this year is Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

The 49ers need a three-down defensive tackle who can stuff the run and pressure the quarterback. And in 2024, Nolen was that player. That's why CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli projects the 49ers to take Nolen with the 11th pick.

"Walter Nolen doesn't get nearly as much credit for how good he was throughout his college career, and should continue to be in the NFL," writes Fornelli. "Part of that is because he does a lot of the dirty work that doesn't show up in stats. He's a large, disruptive force on the interior that would fit in well with the San Francisco defense."

With all due respect to Fornelli, I disagree with his analysis.

Nolen was good his first two seasons at Texas A&M, but he wasn't dominant. In fact, he didn't put it all together until this past season when he transferred to Ole Miss, so he's a bit of a one-year wonder. In addition, he weighs just 293 pounds, which means he might not be a great fit as a run defender in the 49ers' Wide 9 defense.

Instead of taking Nolen, I expect the 49ers will draft Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. who was dominant each of his past two seasons. In Fornelli's mock draft, Pearce goes to the Cowboys with the 12th 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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