San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch is making his rounds at the NFL Scouting Combine this week in Indianapolis. He stopped by the Path to the Draft set on Thursday to discuss the 49ers' draft plans.
Former Ohio State pass rusher Nick Bosa is expected to be the first player taken in April's draft. The Arizona Cardinals currently hold the No. 1 overall pick.
Among San Francisco's biggest offseason needs is an elite pass rusher. Unless the Cardinals go in a completely different direction, Bosa is unlikely to be there when the 49ers select at No. 2 overall. Still, stranger things have happened during the draft.
Lynch and the 49ers will get a good look at Bosa during defensive linemen drills on Sunday morning. He plans to do everything in Indianapolis to prove that his time off last season hasn't set him back.
Is the combine important for a player like Bosa, who played just three games in 2018?
"I think so," Lynch answered. "I think a guy that's going as high as Nick is going to go, I think he's probably pretty confident with how he's going to test because it sounds like he's doing everything. You're not doing that unless you've been doing pretty well leading up (to the combine). He's a confident young guy.
"We had a fortuitous deal. We came down to scout Ohio State. They've got a ton of players. It happened to be the day, him not playing and being around his team, he showed up at practice that day. So we got a little sneak peek at just watching him with his teammates.
"It's one of the things I was so impressed, every guy on that roster came up. And here's a guy some people wonder, what do his teammates think (after he decided not to play)? Everybody on that team came up and gave him a hug. It was pretty cool to watch."
Bosa was in Atlanta during the week leading to Super Bowl 53 and was asked about the possibility of the 49ers drafting him.
"I would be lucky to get picked by them," Bosa said during the KNBR interview. "The roster, for a team that's picking No. 2, is a really stacked roster. They had the injury at quarterback that obviously allowed them to get this high in the draft so I think it would be cool, definitely, to go play for a team that is closer than most people think to being a contender."