The 49ers’ linebacking corps could get a new addition in this year’s draft. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reported the team met informally with Temple linebacker Shaun Bradley at the combine, and held a video meeting with him leading up to the draft.
Linebacker is one of the spots the 49ers don’t necessarily need to add depth, but they non-tendered Elijah Lee who signed with the Giants, leaving an opening in the back end of their roster. A projected late-round prospect like Bradley would make sense as an early special teams contributor who could work his way up the depth chart.
Kwon Alexander, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw appear to have the three starting linebacker jobs sewn up, but the depth beyond that is shaky. Undrafted rookie Azeez Al-Shaair had an okay rookie season, but Alexander has missed significant time in each of the last two seasons. Adding more competition at the reserve linebacker spot would ultimately benefit an already deep roster.
Bradley is a touch undersized even by modern standards at 6-1, 235 pounds. He makes up for that lack of size with very good speed. His 4.51 40-yard dash was in the 93rd percentile according to Mockdraftable.
That speed, combined with his three years of starting experience and special teams contributions make him an intriguing Day 3 target for San Francisco. Bradley took over the starting middle linebacker job as a sophomore for the Owls, and went on to compile 256 tackles and 22 tackles for loss with three interceptions and eight pass breakups during his career.
Bradley has all the physical tools to slide in as a Will or Sam linebacker in the 49ers’ defense, and he should be able to play coverage on special teams very early in his career. If San Francisco is looking to replace Lee, this is the type of player they’d aim for.