Players on the 49ers who Should Change Positions
Grant Cohn breaks down which players on the San Francisco 49ers should change positions.
Video Transcript
How about this?
I just did a uh a mailbag for SI.com.
I like doing mailbags when nothing's really going on.
Answer 10 questions.
One of the questions was, give me one player in the Niners who should change positions.
And I like this, this, uh, Question Players are so In football, I mean, you only do one thing, play offense, defense, it's so specialized.
And sometimes I feel like these players picked the wrong thing for themselves because certain positions pay more than others .
Like Debo should have been a running back, full-time running back, if he had focused on it, it could have been great, but make more money at wide receiver, I get that.
Um, Eric Armstead, I felt like would have been a Hall of Fame offensive tackle.
And little known fact about him, he grew up in Sacramento, played both ways in high school, and was ranked the number one.
Uh, high school player in the country, the number one recruit in the country as an offensive tackle, but he wanted to play defensive tackle instead.
Probably more like a , a more fun position to play, more glamorous position to play.
I thought he always should have moved to offense.
I feel like any defensive lineman who's not a pass rusher should probably move to offensive line.
There aren't enough athletes on the offensive line.
Javon Kinlaw to me would be a killer guard.
Alfred Collins would be a killer guard.
His cousin was Trent Brown, who was a really, really good offensive tackle.
So, I'm sort of looking like that.
But what I would say also, in addition to Alfred Collins, Alfred Collins is a pretty good D tackle.
I think he could, like, he's a good 2-down D tackle with the same body type.
I think he could be a Pro Bowl guard.
Maybe I'm wrong.
Another guy, this is the main guy I think should change position, and not like from one side of the ball to the other, but Michael Williams.
To me, he has no position and needs to change his body type.
He's a defensive end in name, but not in practice.
Like, he can play that position, but if he's playing the end, you're never gonna have an edge rush from that side.
And I, I, I don't like defenses that sacrifice.
That for any situation.
Why would you only want 1 edge rusher on the field and then 3 or 4 run defenders when it's a passing league.
Uh, I don't like that.
So, to me, there's a reason they move him into defensive tackle.
Um, he's like a young Eric Armstead, not quite as tall, but a similar frame.
And he was he weighed like 270 right now, maybe 275, but he was 21 years old, he's 22 years old.
Here are my prize picks for the 49ers 2026 season.
Brock Purdy, 25.5 passing touchdowns, more or less.
I'm gonna say less.
Christian McCaffrey, 974.5 rushing yards, more or less.
I'm gonna say less.
Mike Evans, 924.5 receiving yards, more or less.
Hm, that's a tough one.
I'm going with less.
Go to prize picks, use promo code HMA play $5 and get $50 instantly in lineups.
Again, that's code HMA prize picks, it's good to be right.
I think he has the the frame to play at 290.
Well, and I think he could become a full-time defensive tackle.
And I think if you were to do that, put on 2020 pounds.
Not even a muscle, just 20 pounds, he's continued getting stronger, fill out his frame.
By the time he's 25.
He could be an elite 3-down defensive tackle, uh, great against the run, uh, double team magnet.
Uh, pocket pusher.
Will he ever go to a Pro Bowl?
I don't know.
But he could make a lot of money.
I think he could make more money as a full-time 290 pound defensive tackle than the, you know, 270 tweener that he is.
The guy who plays a little bit on the edge, but gives you nothing as a pass rusher, and then plays a little bit in the interior, but gives you not enough as a run defender from that position, and you're always kind of trying to figure out where he should be based on this, no.
There's one player on the team who I would move.
I would say Markell Williams.
Makell Williams, a defensive tackle, Alfred Collins.
To guard.
Or freaking offensive tackle.
Upton stout to free safety.
Jake Tans to fullback.
And Brock Purdy to corner, safety.
