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The 49ers Draft Defensive Tackle Alfred Collins in Round 2

Now, the 49ers run defense should be a strength.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alfred Collins (95) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alfred Collins (95) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are two for two so far in the NFL Draft.

They just took Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins in Round 2 with the 43rd pick. Yesterday, they took Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams in Round 1 with the 11th pick. Both of these players will start from Day 1 and instantly improve the 49ers defense, particularly against the run.

Collins is 6'6", 332 pounds -- NFL.com compares him to Javon Kinlaw, who was a first-round pick. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Kinlaw had an injured knee when they drafted him and never was fully healthy for them.

Collins is different. Collins is fully healthy and he missed just three games in his entire college career. So he's durable. And he's a fantastic fit in the 49ers' Wide 9 defensive front.

The Wide 9 moves the defensive ends outside the tight ends and exposes the defensive tackles to constant double teams when defending the run. That's why Javon Hargrave struggled to stop the run on the 49ers -- he's not built to anchor and hold his ground against two blockers. He's built to win one on one.

The 49ers don't give their defensive tackles many one-on-ones, so they need big bodies to shut down the run between the tackles, something the 49ers haven't been able to do for the past two seasons.

Now, the 49ers run defense should be a strength. They just need a linebacker to replace Dre Greenlaw. Look for them to take that player in Round 3.

Grade: A.

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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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