The San Francisco 49ers are intent on overhauling their wide receiver room. Still, when General Manager John Lynch spoke to the media at the Scouting Combine press conference, he mentioned EDGE as the other position, which is fair with the lack of pass rush in 2025. Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams will return from injury, but the 49ers need to add at EDGE, even if Bryce Huff returns. Also, the 49ers shouldn’t neglect defensive tackle in the draft. C.J. West and Alfred Collins will need some running mates, and you can never have enough defensive linemen.
The first day of on-field drills is over in Indianapolis, and the defensive linemen and linebackers went first to boost their stock in the draft. Who stood out on the defensive line?
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EDGE Malachi Lawrence, TCU
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 253 lbs.
Arm: 33 5/8”
Hand: 9 1/4”
40-yard dashes for defensive linemen should be tossed out the window. Ten-yard splits are where the money is when evaluating EDGE and defensive tackles. Lawrence finished with a 1.59 ten-yard split, which was the third best behind OSU’s Arvell Reese and Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell. Both ran a 1.58 split.
According to Next Gen Stats, Lawrence is the number one EDGE with an athleticism score of 86 after today’s drills. With a 4.52 40-yard dash, 40” vertical jump, and 10’10” broad jump, Lawrence helped his case today, and what was once a late-round gem could see a big jump out of the later rounds.
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EDGE T.J. Parker, Clems
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 263 lbs.
Arm: 33 1/8”
Hand: 9 1/2”
The Clemson EDGE rusher had a very nice day and finished with an overall total score of 78 (6th best among all defensive linemen), according to Next Gen Stats. The junior EDGE rusher finished tied for the fourth-best ten-yard split at 1.61 with Jaishawn Barham from Michigan and Mason Reiger from Wisconsin.
Parker finished with a 4.68 40-yard dash, 34” vertical jump, and 10’0” broad jump, which translated into the fifth-best athleticism score at 76.
DT Zane Durant, Penn State
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 290 lbs.
Arm: 31 7/8”
Hand: 10 5/8”
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The Penn State defensive tackle dazzled with his speed and athleticism on Thursday night. With an athleticism score of 89, Durant was easily the number one defensive tackle. Durant ran a faster 40-yard dash than Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott (4.75) and added a 1.66 ten-yard split, 33.5” vertical jump, and 9’4” broad jump.
The concerns are with Durant’s shorter arms, but his athletic ability isn’t in doubt. Although Durant was excellent on Thursday, the concerns with his strength and size are very real. He could be worth a look in the later rounds.
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