The 49ers are in need of a defensive tackle, or two, and Omarr Norman-Lott has a lot of traits of a defensive tackle they just released
Earlier on Monday, we went over a list of defensive tackles the San Francisco 49ers might be interested in through the first four rounds. The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweeted the Niners will host Tennessee defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott on a 30 visit ahead of the NFL Draft. It’ll be one of nine visits Norman-Lott takes.
Here’s our blurb about Norman-Lott:
Norman-Lott has an uphill battle, both figuratively and literally, at 6’1 7/8” and 291 pounds. He’s undersized, but he has the arm length and hand size of somebody 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier.
The question for Norman-Lott is how he will win at the next level consistently at his size. How often will he play? Tennessee had a heavy rotation, and that meant Norman-Lott only played 225 snaps in 22024. But still managed four sacks and seven quarterback hits to go along with six tackles for loss and an elite pass rush win-rate of 18.9 percent.
It all makes Norman-Lott a fascinating prospect. Norman-Lott possesses transferrable traits that make me think he’ll perform closer to DT5 than DT10. I’d say he has first-round quickness, hand usage/placement, and a motor.
Norman-Lott has some similar quickness traits to Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins. Those players, like Norman-Lott, were undersized but also found ways to be productive.
A potential buyer-beware tag comes with Norman-Lott, who was medically flagged at the NFL Combine:
Coming out of the week, there is some concerning injury news surrounding Norman-Lott. There is an issue around his right knee that came up during his medical check, and it was red flagged because of it. It also appears that this may be a chronic issue, which could seriously hurt his long-term outlook.
Deciphering what is short-term, whether it’s the duration of a rookie contract or a couple of seasons, compared to long-term, would decide where Norman-Lott ends up getting drafted.
He put up impressive numbers considering how few snaps he played. The 49ers relied heavily on experience in the 2024 NFL Draft. Norman-Lott spent three years at Arizona State before transferring to the Volunteers. If Norman-Lott is drafted, the Sun Devil ties on the Niners would be strong.