How Saleh’s influence is reflected in 49ers’ 2025 draft picks

Robert Saleh has not spoken publicly in the three months since the 49ers announced his return to the organization as defensive coordinator.But he certainly has not been silent.It took Saleh less than 24 hours to meet with key members of the 49ers' personnel department to outline his vision for the draft."Right when we hired him, the very first day, he sat down with us and he talked about how he has evolved in his time away from here," 49ers director of player personnel RJ Gillen said of Saleh."He also heard from us how we've evolved and how we see players and how he sees players. Then we kind of came together in a consensus in terms of the plan and the types of players and skill sets and fits we want moving forward."Saleh's impact on the 2025 NFL Draft was obvious, as the 49ers selected defensive players with the team's first five picks.The 49ers chose Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams with the No. 11 overall pick. They added some bulk to the interior of the defensive line with the selections of Alfred Collins of Texas and C.J. West of Indiana in the second and fourth rounds.In the third round, the 49ers picked Oklahoma State linebacker Nick Martin and Western Kentucky...