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Will the 49ers Draft Oregon DT Derrick Harmon in Round 1?

Harmon is similar to Arik Armstead.
Grant Cohn|
Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Derrick Harmon (55) reacts in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Derrick Harmon (55) reacts in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers almost certainly will draft a defensive lineman with their first pick this year.

They've released three-quarters of their starting D-line in the past few days. Leonard Floyd, Maliek Collins and Javon Hargrave all are out. Nick Bosa is the only starter left. And it doesn't seem like the 49ers intend to sign any starters in free agency. Otherwise, they would have signed Joey Bosa, who went to the Bills instead.

The 49ers could take a defensive end in Round 1, but it's much easier to find edge rushers who fit the Wide 9 than it is to find defensive tackles who fit. That's because the edge rushers line up outside the tight ends, so they don't have to worry about double-team blocks. That's why they can be relatively small. See: Dee Ford.

Defensive tackles in the Wide 9 have to be big because they're constantly exposed to double teams. Which means they must be able to anchor and hold their ground, otherwise the 49ers won't be able to stop the run.

In the past, Arik Armstead was the ideal Wide 9 defensive tackle because he could anchor against double teams and keep Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw unblocked. Now, the 49ers have to find the next Armstead.

And that could be Derrick Harmon. Like Armstead, Harmon played at Oregon (he also played three years at Michigan State). And like Armstead, Harmon is an outstanding run defender. He recorded just 5 sacks this past season and 8.5 total in college, but he can push the pocket as Armstead did.

The 49ers could take Harmon with the 11th pick or trade down and take him. Don't be surprised if he's their target.

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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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