Kurtenbach: Here are my favorite NFL Draft prospects for the 49ers’ defense

I, a 35-year-old man, have neglected my family and other responsibilities over the last few months to spend time with guys in college.

Few things in sports are as interesting or as engrossing to me as the NFL Draft, so night after night (starting well before the Niners’ run to the Super Bowl), I’ve popped on some college football and gone to work, evaluating the class of 2024.

Unlike past classes, it’s a great crop that proved well worth the time.

Now, I could give you all a list of every prospect, but there are enough of those lists. How about I send you the CliffNotes instead?

Here are my favorite prospects on defense for the 49ers in this upcoming draft, broken down into early (top 50), middle (top 150), and late picks:

Defensive End

Early: Darius Robinson – Missouri

The Niners need someone who can play at 5-technique (lined up off the tackle’s outside shoulder) if their Wide-Nine defensive front is going to work. That’s what Arik Armstead (and paid as) before the Niners moved him to defensive tackle, and the team’s run defense suffered.

Robinson provides an answer here, as he can play every technique on the line at a high level. He’s massive at 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds but can move like a much smaller man. Slide him inside or outside and he’ll win, and his strength and ability to control blockers will be a welcome addition to a line that has become too agility-based in recent seasons.

Middle: Brennan Jackson – Washington State

He’s not terribly fun to watch, but he plays with a relentless motor, has solid size (even if that includes shorter arms), and is a tactician. He’ll set an edge and hold it, something the 49ers’ strong-side defensive ends did not do in 2023. In a class full of projects and projections, Jackson is a professional.

Late: Trajan Jeffcoat – Arkansas

His knock in the SEC was that he didn’t play with a consistent motor — that he’d flash greatness and then fade away. Well, seeing as he’d be a late-round pick, no one will be putting him on the field for all three downs, so a lacking motor doesn’t seem like a concern to me. I choose to focus on what Jeffcoat can do, which is win reps off the edge and slide inside in one-gap pass-rush downs. That’s something the 49ers could use.

Defensive Tackle

Early: Ruke Orhorhoro – Clemson

A perfect fit for the 49ers’ one-gap front, Orhorhoro has a blazing first step and the kind of tenacity that will put him in the backfield repeatedly at the NFL level.

Middle: T’Vondre Sweat – Texas

The athletic testing numbers don’t say much, but the tape speaks volumes. At 366 pounds, he is a one-man run defense. While a player of this size will be a departure for the Niners, it could be a welcome change, as Sweat also can shed blockers at a high level and make flash plays comparable to any pass rusher in this class. There’s a reason this guy was the obvious choice to win the Outland Trophy this past season. The reason he’s available in the middle rounds? Character concerns. Sweat might not be a “Gold Helmet” type player (the Niners’ distinction for elite players on and off the field), but the on-field production was so impressive that it’s worth overlooking.

Late: Jaden Crumedy – Mississippi State

He has special movement ability for a 300-pound man, and his highlights stack up with those of anyone in this class. His issue is a questionable motor. Again, who cares about that with a Day 3 pick who will be situational at best? Crumedy played for four head coaches at Mississippi State and I’m fascinated to see how he’d perform if put in a stable environment like San Francisco’s.

Linebacker

Early: None

This is a bad linebacker class and while the Niners certainly won’t draft a linebacker early, they should not even consider any player in the top-100.

Middle: Cedric Gray – North Carolina

My favorite linebacker in this class, Gray registered more than 100 tackles in each of his last three college seasons. He sees the ball and gets the ball, showing elite instinct and range in both the pass and run game. He’s considered a bit small and perhaps not as strong as he should be. I don’t see how that should overrule three years of exceptional play in a top conference. Gray is going to be a stud—there’s no reason to overthink it.

Late: Nathanial Watson – Mississippi State

Another top performer with off-the-field issues, Watson had 250 tackles in his last 25 college games, with an absurd 25 tackles for loss and 16 sacks. Those are stupefying numbers. And he did that in the SEC. Watson is out for blood on the field, a la Dre Greenlaw, and I don’t see a problem with that.

Cornerback

Early: Cooper DeJean – Iowa

Here’s your starting nickelback, your backup on the outside and at free safety, your starting punt and kick returner, and probably your scout team quarterback, too. There’s nothing hyped up or fake about DeJean — he’s an athlete of the highest caliber and a game-changer on defense and special teams. An elite coverage man and a sure tackler, he’s the truth anywhere you put him. And that versatility only makes him more valuable. If the Niners are lucky enough to have him fall to them at the end of the first round, they should take less than 5 seconds to call in the pick.

Middle: Kamari Lassiter – Georgia

He was the best cornerback on the best defense in America, going up against the best receivers in the nation in the SEC (if you doubt that statement, wait until next year’s draft class). At a certain point last season, teams stopped throwing it his way altogether. He did not have a game last year where he allowed more than one catch. So I do not care that he lacks elite physical traits — he’s one of the few corners in this class who convinced me he can actually play the position with polish and smarts. Take him and prosper.

Late: Isaiah Johnson – Syracuse

The Dartmouth graduate is 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds and can jam receivers at the line and keep them jammed. He lacks elite straight-line speed (4.6 40-yard dash) but tested off the charts with everything else. You buy Johnson for the smarts and hope he can translate his athletic ability onto the field with better coaching. If he ever puts it together, he’d be the steal the draft. I’ve certainly seen worse players taken earlier and given far more rope.

Safety

Early: Javon Bullard – Georgia

An exceptional prospect and the only safety I would consider in the top 100, Bullard shows preternatural instincts despite being one of the youngest players in this draft class. You can play him at all three levels and receive production. His lack of elite athletic testing will push him down draft boards—that’s a win for whichever team drafts him. Being a safety is marginally about athletic ability.

Middle: Cole Bishop – Utah

I know 49ers general manager John Lynch loves this guy. Bishop is a bopper — bring him into the box and watch him clean up messes left and right. His coverage skills are solid, if not spectacular, knocking him into this tier.

Late: Tykee Smith – Georgia

Smith can play at all three levels and has a knack for ending up with the ball. He is a jack of all trades and a master at none, but that’s a positive for a depth piece. With his explosion towards the ball and ill intent when tackling, he should, at the very least, be an impact special teams player.