The 49ers selected one of the most athletic defensive tackles in the draft with the 107th pick
The San Francisco 49ers selected Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton with the 107th pick in the NFL Draft.
He’s on the smaller side at 6’2 5/8” and 293 pounds. But he had some of the best athletic testing in the class. Halton’s 40-time was in the 95th percentile. His jumps were also in the 90th percentiles. Coming from a Sooners defense that was among the best in the country, the 49ers are getting the typical undersized, disruptive 3-technique that can rush the passer and allow Alfred Collins and CJ West to focus on being run stoppers.
One of Halton’s athletic comps is none other than Javon Hargrave. Like Hargrave, Halton has a promising first step that helps him win. Being undersized can help, as it means you can run different stunts and games along the defensive line. Moving and changing direction are not issues. However, at this size, Halton can get blown off the ball in the running game. There were times when I saw him hold his ground against a double team, but it’s not something he should be doing again and again throughout a game.
I noticed Halton getting some late pressures on twists. Raheem Morris likely noticed the same. Speaking of pressure, Halton led all defensive tackles in pressure percent, true pressure percentage, and quick pressure percentage in this class.
Halton is a 4-year senior who saw his playing time spike the past two seasons with the Sooners. He had three sacks last season, but 30 pressures and 12 quarterback hits. I mentioned the pressure numbers. They were actually higher as a junior.
