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Report: 49ers to Host Marshall DE Mike Green on Top-30 Visit

Green is similar to a young Dee Ford.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 7, 2024; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd defensive lineman Mike Green (15) celebrates after sacking Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones (1) during the first quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2024; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd defensive lineman Mike Green (15) celebrates after sacking Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones (1) during the first quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers almost have to take a defensive lineman with their first pick this year.

They might want to take an offensive tackle or a wide receiver or even a running back, but they currently have one starting-caliber defensive lineman on their entire roster and it's Nick Bosa. And he played just 693 snaps last season -- the second-lowest output of his career. The lowest came in 2020 when he tore his ACL and missed all but two games.

So it makes sense that the 49ers would examine the upcoming NFL Draft's top defensive line prospects extremely closely. And according to reports, the 49ers will host Marshall defensive end Mike Green at their facility for a top-30 visit.

Green might be the second-best pass rusher in the draft after Abdul Carter. He has an explosive first few steps and can bend extremely well which allows him to turn the corner and sack the quarterback. He's similar to a young Dee Ford.

Keep in mind, the 49ers once traded a second-round pick for an older, broken-down Dee Ford. That's because Robert Saleh wants a speed rusher to complement Nick Bosa, who's a methodical power rusher. When Ford was on the field, he frequently would be the first defensive lineman in the backfield so he would force the quarterback to move and hold the ball an extra beat which would give Bosa and the other defensive linemen more time to make the sack.

This was an effective formula. Don't be surprised if the 49ers try to recreate it.

They already know Green because 49ers defensive quality control coach K.J. Wright worked with him at the Senior Bowl in January. Now, they just need to ask about the two sexual assault accusations against him that were dropped.

If they feel he was innocent, he probably will be the pick. If they're unclear about what happened, they'll probably take someone else.

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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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