The 49ers the last few years have been successful in the business of maximizing the talents of defensive lineman. Players like Kerry Hyder, Arden Key and Charles Omenihu all saw success in San Francisco after hanging around in relative obscurity through the early portions of their careers. Ole Miss defensive lineman Tavius Robinson is a prospect the 49ers could target in this year’s draft with the hopes of putting his career on an upward trajectory right away. Robinson met with San Francisco ahead of the draft per the Draft Network’s Justin Melo.
Robinson is a fascinating player who needs plenty of polish to maximize his unbelievable physical traits. He measures in at 6-6, 257 pounds with nearly 34-inch arms. It’s easy to see how he’d fit on a 49ers defensive line that values edge players who can kick down and rush from the interior on passing downs.
He didn’t put up huge numbers at Ole Miss, with 10.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in 32 games as a transfer from Guelph University in Ontario.
While the productivity hasn’t been there and he lacks some of the explosiveness ideal for an edge rusher, there are a ton of physical tools in his belt that could make a teams optimistic about his future as a productive defensive lineman.
For the 49ers in particular, this has been their specialty. They’ve bet on traits with veterans who disappointed early in their careers. Now with a late-round pick they could bet on traits with a rookie in hopes of maximizing his talents over a four-year rookie contract instead of a one-year free agent deal.
