One Offensive Tackle the 49ers Should Avoid With the 11th Pick

If the 49ers want to draft an offensive tackle with the 11th pick, they absolutely mustn't consider this player.

April 13, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive tackle Josh Simmons (71) competes during the first half of the LifeSports spring football game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. | Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Disp / USA TODAY NETWORK

Drafting an offensive tackle is on the table for the San Francisco 49ers with the 11th pick.

There should be quite a few options for them to choose from that would be a solid fit for them. However, there is one offensive tackle the 49ers should avoid with the 11th pick.

That player is Ohio State's Josh Simmons. He is a red flag prospect due to suffering a torn patellar tendon in the middle of the 2024 season.

An injury like that is an extremely concerning one. It's not an easy recovery or a favorable one for players to return to form before they were injured.

Simmons was closing in on becoming one of the best prospects of the 2025 NFL draft before he got injured. That all changes with his injury.

He goes from being a top 10 pick to potentially not being picked in the first round at all. Taking him with the 11th pick is way too risky for the 49ers.

Maybe if they were picking near the end of the first round. That is a value that would be easier to stomach with his risk. But at No. 11, the 49ers can't take that risk.

If, for some reason, they do draft him, that will signal that the 49ers received positive reviews from their doctors on Simmons.

Still, a team picking so high like the 49ers at No. 11 means that the risks cannot be so high. That is a slot where the 49ers have to take an immediate impact player with little-to-no worry.

Simmons isn't that player. He may very well end up being that impressive player before he got injured, but the 49ers need to let another team figure that out.

It's a hard pass on Simmons at No. 11 if they want an offensive tackle.