With The First Pick
Fansided

Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner Fit New Defense

By Carl Cockerham

Aug 4, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arik Armstead (91) and defensive end DeForest Buckner (99) walk out for training at SAP Performance Facility. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 4, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arik Armstead (91) and defensive end DeForest Buckner (99) walk out for training at SAP Performance Facility. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /
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Defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Deforest Buckner were picked in the first round as foundational pieces. But with the new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is bringing in many wonder if the two fit.

New San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will handle the offense as he should. So the question many had on his arrival was about what the 49ers would do on defense. Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn runs that hybrid 4-3 made famous in Seattle.

Quinn was once the coordinator of that defense so he naturally took the scheme with him to the Atlanta Falcons. And Shanahan saw it help get the Falcons to the Super Bowl and a 25-point lead in it. So he wants to go ahead and give it a go in San Francisco.

His hire for defensive coordinator would be former Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers coach Robert Saleh. Saleh was the defensive quality control coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2011-13. So he knows the defense inside and out, giving Shanahan the confidence in him to run it.

But a new scheme will require returning players to make adjustments from the 3-4 they ran before. Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner are  two of the players that have to adjust the most. After all, defensive alignments are based on how the front-seven lines up.

And with the new alignments will come new responsibilities for the defensive linemen. But GM John Lynch believes the two first-round picks will fit into the new scheme well.

Lynch told 95.7 The Game, per CSNBayArea.com.

"“I think they fit very well. And that’s one thing I think I want to make sure [to say] because I really believe it. I think Trent Baalke did a great job of getting guys that, yes, they were picked for one system.“But I think they transition very well to our system.”"

We wait until September!