Just four months ago Reuben Foster was about to fall out of the first-round of the NFL Draft before the 49ers traded up to select him with the 31st overall pick. Now just hours before the start of the NFL season, he’s being talked about as a rookie of the year candidate. Or in some cases, a favorite.
That’s the opinion of Daniel Jeremiah at NFL.com, who ranked Foster as not just the top defensive rookie heading into 2017, but the top rookie overall when posting his rankings on Thursday afternoon. Jeremiah believes that Foster has All-Pro potential.
Foster has been turning heads locally since the start of training camp and nationally since his performance in the third preseason game against the Vikings. Foster was all over the field during that contest, delivering hits like this one on the first play.
Itt pedig a 49ers-újonc Reuben Foster változott át torpedóvá, és süllyesztette el a Vikings-újonc Dalvin Cookot. https://t.co/TUk74cSC2r
— 120yard (@120_yard) August 28, 2017
Due to a season ending injury to Malcolm Smith, Foster was named as the team’s starting outside linebacker two weeks in to the preseason, and should be on the field for the majority of the defensive snaps in the 49ers’ opener on Sunday against the Panthers. If Foster lives up to the hype, he could make up for half of one of the best linebacker pairings in the NFL alongside former All-Pro NaVorro Bowman, something San Francisco also had before Patrick Willis retired. During those seasons, the 49ers were ranked as a top-five defense every year.
Interestingly, No. 3 overall pick Soloman Thomas is nowhere to be found on the 25-man list, perhaps due in part to the fact that he begins the season as a backup to Tank Carradine at defensive end. Thomas is the highest drafted player not to be included on the list.
Foster will be squaring off against another top five rookie on Sunday, in Panthers’ starting running back and Stanford alum Christian McCaffrey, who is fourth on Jeremiah’s list.
You can see the full list here.