At least one of the top two pass rushers — Nick Bosa from Ohio State or Josh Allen from Kentucky — is guaranteed to be available when the San Francisco 49ers are on the clock with the No. 2 overall pick in April. That is, assuming the team doesn't trade down.
Allen seemed confident after his three-sack performance in the Wildcats' 27-24 victory over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl on Tuesday that he won't be available when San Francisco selects. His impressive performance also included a blocked field goal.
"You all record this," Allen told reporters. "If I don't go No. 1, I don't know who is."
Allen finished his senior season with 17 sacks — three more than he had during his previous two seasons combined. Allen set new Kentucky school single-season and career records for sacks this past season. He has accumulated 31.5 sacks in his four collegiate seasons.
Bosa, the younger brother of Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, underwent surgery due to a core muscle injury sustained during Ohio State's third game of last season. He announced on October 16, 2018, that he was leaving school to focus on preparing for the draft.
Bosa finished the 2018 season with four sacks through three games after recording 13.5 sacks in his previous two years. He registered 77 combined tackles and 17.5 sacks in just over two seasons with the Buckeyes.
It is likely that one of these two players goes No. 1 overall in April and they could both be off the board after the first two picks. The 49ers are in dire need of a pass rusher. The team's most effective pass rusher was third-year player DeForest Buckner, who primarily plays along the interior.
While Buckner had a career-high 12 sacks this past season, no one else on the team had more than 5.5. San Francisco tied for No. 22 in the NFL at bringing down opposing quarterbacks. Those quarterbacks had a combined passer rating of 105.4 against the 49ers defense, which is the second-highest mark in the NFL. Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense fared worse against opposing quarterbacks.
One 49ers player who will be keeping an eye on his team's offseason moves is 12-year veteran Joe Staley, who would like to once again sniff success before calling it a career. He joined Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area this past week on the 49ers Insider Podcast.
Staley will maintain a vested interest in the 49ers' offseason dealings but won't throw in his two cents when it comes to who to draft. He hasn't even started researching the incoming rookie class, which he does each year.
What does Staley think about potentially lining up against a highly-rated rookie pass rusher during offseason practices?
"I look forward to that — another competitive challenge," Staley responded. "I hope he makes it a real long camp for me because that bodes well for our football team."
Despite the 49ers win total dropping from six games in 2017 to four games in 2018, Staley remains confident in the current regime, including head coach Kyle Shanahan, being able to turn things around for the franchise.
"I'm excited to go into next year with a full roster," Staley said. "We have that second overall pick. We'll bring in some more talent in free agency. I'm excited for what's built here. I do think what we've gone through the last two years will benefit us greatly when we really start putting together some wins and the locker room is rolling like I know it will be."
2019 will be Staley's final season under contract with the 49ers. He plans to continue playing as long as he can do so at a high level. Staley has no desire to move from his left tackle spot or play a backup role to a younger player. When that happens, he'll know it's time to end his NFL career.
Staley remains focused on 2019.
"After that, it'll be my decision," Staley told reporters last month.
You can listen to the entire interview with Staley below.
