Defensive tackle is the 49ers’ biggest need and Mason Graham is the top-ranked player at the position in this year’s draft.
Whatever the 49ers do, they should not draft him with the 11th pick.
Early in the offseason, Graham was considered a lock to get drafted in the top five. But the Combine revealed that he’s relatively small for a defensive tackle (6’3″, 296 lbs.) and his arms are extremely short (32 inches). And in three seasons at Michigan, he recorded just 9 sacks.
Yikes.
Compare Graham to Solomon Thomas, whom the 49ers took with the third pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Thomas is 6’3″, 295 lbs. and his arms are 33 inches long. And he had 11.5 sacks in two seasons at Stanford. And he was extremely athletic at the Combine. And yet, he lacks the size and length to be an effective starter at defensive tackle in the NFL. So he’s a backup.
I’m not saying Graham definitely will be a bust and a long-term backup like Thomas. I’m just saying the 49ers probably shouldn’t draft a Solomon Thomas doppelganger in Round 1. Let some other team take a chance on a sub-300-pound defensive tackle with 32-inch arms and minimal sack production.
Graham didn’t even do any of the athletic testing at the Combine. And at his Pro Day he did position drills only. Sounds like a player who could drop into the late first round.
If the 49ers take a defensive tackle in Round 1, they’d be better off taking Kenneth Grant or Derrick Harmon.
