Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Thursday, January 23rd, 2025
“Josh Edwards has consistently mocked former Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Stewart to the 49ers with the 11th overall pick, a trend that continues in his latest mock draft.
“The interior defensive line has fallen off in recent years and an injury to Javon Hargraveexacerbated those issues,” Edwards wrote. “Shemar Stewart will hopefully reinvigorate that unit and give it some life alongside Nick Bosa.”
Meanwhile, Chris Trapasso envisions the 49ers addressing the edge position, projecting former Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce Jr. as the pick. Trapasso has consistently mocked Pearce to San Francisco since December.
“James Pearce Jr. is a long, bendy edge rusher with elite-level speed-to-power conversion and plenty of room to grow into his frame in the NFL,” Trapasso wrote. “Running mate for Nick Bosa.”
Mel Kiper’s debut mock draft has 49ers addressing a crucial need
“Banks has a ton of experience, having started 42 games over his college career — and he allowed only three sacks over that time,” Kiper wrote. “I’m curious to see his combine measurements — height might be a question mark if he’s 6-foot-3 or shorter — but he has the movement traits and strength to seal off the edge in pass protection.”
Banks excelled as the Longhorns’ left tackle last season, earning a stellar 89.8 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked fifth among all collegiate offensive linemen. Over 537 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed just one sack and 10 total pressures.
Additionally, Banks posted an 81.0 run-blocking grade and a career-high 86.0 overall offensive grade, solidifying himself as a top collegiate prospect.”
What can 49ers do if Robert Saleh isn’t their next defensive coordinator? (paywall)
“If Saleh doesn’t work out, Gus Bradley, who was a mentor of Saleh’s, is a potential candidate who fits the profile. Bradley, who was fired earlier this month after three seasons as the Colts’ defensive coordinator, was Seattle’s defensive coordinator for Carroll’s first three seasons as the Seahawks head coach (2010-12) and has 12 years of NFL coordinator experience.
Shanahan tried to hire Bradley in 2017, but he chose the Chargers and the 49ers ultimately hired Saleh.”
Could the 49ers’ defensive coordinator search lead them to Pete Carroll? (paywall)
“Energy” is a key word in this 49ers’ DC search, I’ve heard — the implication being that Steve Wilks in 2023 and Nick Sorensen last season didn’t do much to rev up their players during their one-year DC tenures. Saleh, who was Shanahan’s first 49ers DC from 2017-2020 before leaving to take the top spot with the New York Jets, definitely brings energy wherever he goes. So does DeMeco Ryans, who replaced Saleh as 49ers’ DC, then left after two seasons to take over the Houston Texans.
And Carroll, at 73, is still probably the most energetic candidate the 49ers could possibly consider. Just think, he could return to the 49ers DC role he first had … 30 years ago, from 1995 to 1996, under George Seifert (just missing Mike Shanahan’s 49ers OC tenure by one year).”