Why the 49ers Drafted CB Darrell Luter Jr.
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Cornerback, for once, is a relatively comfortable position for the 49ers when they entered the offseason.
Usually, it is a lightweight need at the very least. But with Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir, the 49ers look solid in that area. Still, it is always wise to look at cornerback as a position to draft. A team can never have enough depth there, which is exactly what the 49ers did last weekend when they selected Southern Alabama's Darrell Luter Jr. in the fifth round with the No. 155 overall pick.
Getting a cornerback makes sense for the 49ers, but why was Luter their selection? Assistant general manager Adam Peters and Director of College Scouting Tariq Ahmad explain why the 49ers drafted Luter.
"Luter came on a 30-visit and actually Tariq and I talked to him out on the deck, and I remember it because we've been stuck in this draft room for weeks and there's no sun in there," said Peters. "So, I was like, instead of meeting in an office, let's go stand on the deck in the sun for a while. And he was probably the most mature guy we met probably in the whole process.
"He's married, he's just, he's a man already and he impressed the heck out of me, and I know he impressed you too. And that was probably the thing that stood out with Luter the most. Obviously, the stuff on the field, we love his physicality, his strength, his upside. Junior college guy who’s got a lot of upside still, so yeah, we're really excited about Luter.”
One of the things that tends to get overlooked with drafting a player is their character. That always play a significant role in why a team becomes interested in one. It more so plays a heavier influence in the earlier rounds of the draft since it is such high investment, but it still plays a part throughout the entire draft. Luter fits the bill of the 49ers in that sense, which is their common theme amongst all their players who are high character guys. That was a main factor into drafting Luter, but that wasn't the lone factor.
"Part of that evaluation process at the Senior Bowl, he really stood out to us," Ahmad said. "We thought he separated himself from a lot of different prospects there and it made a big impact. He's very strong. He was very sticky at the Senior Bowl. He fit in very well down there against some of the top competition.”
High character player and someone who has intriguing ability that the 49ers can work with. The 49ers love their Senior Bowl prospects. It really does give an added element into the scouting process that can become a convincing factor into drafting a player. Just look at Deebo Samuel. The 49ers got to be up close and personal with him there because they were coaching it. Luter is an intriguing prospect on the 49ers. Peters and Ahmad gave him a rave review. He just might be a player who can surprise and turn a lot of heads in the future.
"The NFL is really hard, so you’ve got to be tough, you’ve got to be mature in order to do this, it’s your job," Ahmad said. "So, we found on our team, the mature guys do really, really well. You know, the guys that are, that are physical, that are tough, do really well and he fit that bill.”
