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49ers Hosting Ohio State OT Josh Simmons on Top-30 Visit Today

The 49ers can't afford to gamble on another high draft pick this year.
Grant Cohn|
Mar 1, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Ohio State University offensive lineman Josh Simmons (OL37) answers questions at a press conference during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images
Mar 1, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Ohio State University offensive lineman Josh Simmons (OL37) answers questions at a press conference during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are taking a close look at the top offensive tackles in the upcoming draft.

Today, they will host Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons at their facility according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Simmons is one of 30 players the 49ers will host for a pre-draft visit.

And they're bringing him in for a couple reasons.

One, his tape is fantastic. He was an outstanding left tackle for Ohio State where he displayed the traits required to become an outstanding left tackle in the NFL.

Two, he tore the patellar tendon in his knee last season and they need to check on the status of his recovery before they consider drafting him in Round 1.

Teams often invite players with medical issues into their facility for top-30 visits, so Simmons' invitation should come as no surprise. The 49ers will be extremely cautious with him because Drake Jackson suffered a similar injury in 2023 and hasn't played since. His career might be over. In addition, Mike McGlinchey suffered a similar injury and still feels pain and discomfort in his knee.

So the 49ers know how debilitating and degenerative Simmons' injury can be. And that's why I don't expect them to draft him.

The 49ers have had some big misses in Round 1 the past few years. Javon Kinlaw, Trey Lance and Solomon Thomas all come to mind. That's a big reason they were 6-11 last season -- wasted high draft picks.

They can't afford to gamble on another high draft pick this year. They have to pick someone relatively safe -- as close to a sure thing as they can find.

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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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