San Fransisco 49ers: Damon Harrison Sr.

Last season, the San Fransisco 49ers exploded on to the NFL scene. The 49ers managed to make the Super Bowl last season, and arguably the strongest aspect to the 49ers team last year was their defensive line.

Last season, the 49ers had some of the best edge rushers in the NFL. Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa and Dee Ford terrorized quarterbacks for the entire season, but what about the interior?

To go along with Bosa, Armstead, and Ford, the 49ers also had DeForest Buckner. Buckner was a menace from the interior for the 49ers and worked great alongside their edge rushers, but this past off-season, he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts.

The 49ers ended up trading away Buckner for the Colts 1st round pick, in which they ended up taking another defensive tackle in Javon Kinlaw. Kinlaw is certainly a quality defensive tackle, and was my number one defensive tackle in the draft, but the Kinlaw will likely be a step down in terms of production as he will be a rookie, but there is an opportunity for the 49ers to maintain, if not step up their defensive tackle production with the possible acquisition of Damon Harrison Sr.

Since early in his career, Harrison has established himself as one of the premier nose tackles in the NFL. Harrison’s greatest attribute is his run-stopping ability. Harrison’s run defense ability was recognized by PFF as they named him the Run Defender of the Year in the 2018-19 season

Harrison has spent most of his career in New York, playing with both the Jets, as well as the Giants. In 2018 Harrison finally found himself out of New York as he was traded to Detroit. After Harrison’s short year and a half stint Detroit, he now finds himself in the free agency market.

Adding Harrison to this 49ers defense would be a good move for several reasons. He would give them, once again, a quality interior defender. Not only is he a quality player, but he could be a possible good example for their rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.

While Harrison is available for the 49ers to sign, they face one problem in the form of COVID-19. In a recent interview on PFF’s 2 for 1 Drafts Podcast, Harrison sighted the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his young children as to why he hasn’t signed yet.

The 49ers’ face a massive problem in the form of COVID, but if they can sign Harrison, they will be getting one of the best interior defenders in the NFL.