The San Francisco 49ers could have went a number of ways in the first round of this draft. They ultimately decided to keep former Stanford DE Solomon Thomas in the Bay Area.
You don’t always have to go a long way to find the perfect thing for you. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers, who selected Stanford DE Solomon Thomas at No. 3 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. In more ways than one, Solomon is the perfect fit in San Francisco.
Thomas is a beast of a DE at 6’3″, 273 pounds with and arm length of 33 inches. Thomas is as strong as a bull with 30 reps of 225 as he often kicks inside on third down. He’s also athletic with plenty of burst off the edge, running a 4.69 40 and 6.95 3-cone drill.
That versatility enabled him to play anywhere on the D-line while at Stanford. That’s right in the wheelhouse of the 49ers, who will be running a hybrid 4-3 defensive system. Thomas can play the rush end or the base end in the 4-3, and end in the 3-4.
Then on those obvious passing downs, he can still play outside but he can also kick inside to DT. The 49ers were horrible on defense last year despite having OLB Aaron Lynch, MLB Navorro Bowman and DLs Deforest Buckner and Arik Armstead.
Thomas, with his immense talent and versatility, will bring that defensive front-7 together. And in turn, it will make the 49ers defense much better and the team more competitive. This is a good pick for John Lynch, who’s in his first year as the 49ers’ GM.