© John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
On Monday, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan appeared on The Adam Schefter Podcast to talk about all things 49ers, including the recent Dee Ford acquisition, as well as what what the 49ers will do with the number two overall pick.
The Faithful are surely excited about signing Ford away from Kansas City, and Kyle Shanahan thinks that Ford is the start of turning this defensive unit around.
“We feel really good about our d-line, but we’ve been missing a really good edge-rusher,” Shanahan said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who can rush the quarterback from inside who have done a good job, and we felt going into our third year that we had to get that fixed, and Dee Ford was the start of that. To bring him in with his speed and pair him up next to our inside guys, it’ll really help, and he can cause a lot on his own also.”
The question the 49ers front office now has to ask themselves is whether they want to take an elite pass rusher with the second overall pick, or trade down and find more value down the board. When asked about how realistic a possibility it is that the 49ers actually trade down from number two overall, Shanahan said the team is open to many possibilities.
“I think it’s always realistic because we’ll do whatever we can to improve our team,” Shanahan said. “It’s not like I’m going out there trying to facilitate a trade, but if people call you, and they want something bad enough, you always sit there and listen. If that can help your organization more than one guy with the second pick, then that’s something we should never hesitate to do.”
Shanahan went on about how excited he was regarding this upcoming draft.
“I think it’s a fun decision because you know you’re going to get a good player, or some very good trade offers that allow you to go back and still get a good player, so I look at it as a win-win,” coach Shanahan said. “(Having a high draft pick) is something I never want to be in and it’s not something you’re proud of, but when you do get here, it’s definitely a lot more fun looking at players that have a chance of going at two as opposed to 20.”
To listen to the entire Shanahan interview, start listening at 20:00 in the link HERE: