The 49ers had a defensive approach in this draft, and that always meant Kris Kocurek was going to be involved
The San Francisco 49ers had a plan heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. They had massive needs to fill along the defensive line and throughout the defense. It’s why the Niners used their first five picks on that side of the ball.
After each draft, The Athletic’s Mike Sando gets thoughts from NFL executives to see how each team did drafting. One executive explained why the 49ers were on a defensive path in this draft:
“I have no issue with it. They are realizing they have lost their way a little bit in the past year or so. It is more of them retooling that defense with the guys that fit what has made them really good in the past.”
Not having Robert Saleh or DeMeco Ryans in the building during these previous two years has deprived the 49ers of what made them a dominant defense: being stout against the run.
Players like Leonard Floyd and Javon Hargrave were clear pass-rush first players. Saleh and Ryans never built their defense around those types players. San Francisco found out the hard way in 2023 and 2024 why that’s the case.
Predictably, the 49ers would double down on the defensive line in either the second or third round. They added Alfred Collins in the second after selecting Mykel Williams in the first. One executive believes Kris Kocurek will have to earn his paycheck:
“Both those guys have a little developing to do, so they are leaning hard into (defensive line coach) Kris Kocurek. Both guys have huge upside.”
Collins is a fifth-year senior who played in every season but didn’t start until 2024. He actually had more pressures in 2023 as a rotational player.
Williams, a three-year junior, played more snaps as a true freshman than he did as a junior. He also happened to have the most production as a freshman. So these guys have been playing a good amount of football at a high level.
As for Kocurek, it’s more about molding who Collins and Williams will become and less about developing them. The toolbox is full for both prospects.
Another executive believes one of the reasons the 49ers did not need to draft an offensive lineman early was Kyle Shanahan’s, at least in Shanahan’s mind, ability to manufacture offense.
The Athletic’s Matt Barrows believed the Niners would have selected an offensive tackle late in the third round had Charles Grant or Caleb Rogers not been chosen in success picks right before 100. There was an obvious gap in talent at that position, as 27 more players came off the board until the next offensive lineman was selected.
Ultimately, this draft was about adding beef in the trenches:
“Mykel Williams is big enough to set the edge in the run game, he has some rush, and he is only 20. That is why he went before the Georgia kid the Falcons took (Jalon Walker). San Fran wants guys who are bigger like (Nick) Bosa, and if you are going to play that 4-3 attacking scheme, you have to draft D-linemen every year.”
Out with the Maliek Collins’ types and in with the violent players who win against the run. That was how the 49ers approached this draft.