Malcolm Smith is out for the year, and there is now no reason for the San Francisco 49ers to not start rookie Reuben Foster at the WILL linebacker spot.
The San Francisco 49ers were dealt two significant blows on Saturday as it was revealed guard Joshua Garnett will need knee surgery and that Malcolm Smith is to miss the 2017 season with a torn pectoral. The linebacker’s injury thrusts one of the team’s two 2017 first-round picks into the limelight.
While Garnett’s injury should lead to nerves over a lack of quality depth on the interior of the offensive line, the upside of Smith’s terrible misfortune for the 49ers is that Reuben Foster now has a clear path to the starting job at the WILL linebacker position.
It is likely Foster would have eventually claimed the starting role from Smith anyway. But now the former Alabama star appears set to be the unquestioned No. 1 at at that position. Although, Ray-Ray Armstrong got the initial work with the first-string in base with Smith out.
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Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has previously indicated, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, that an ascent up the depth chart is far from a guarantee for Foster.
"“The best way I can explain with Reuben is he’ll get his opportunity when he absolutely, absolutely deserves it,” Saleh said. “The credit really goes to the backers in that room also, that they also deserve every opportunity that they’re getting as well as him.”"
But the reality is that the 49ers moved back into the first round to take Foster and will, therefore, not keep him on the sideline in favour of Armstrong.
Armstrong excels as a coverage linebacker, but Foster’s all-round upside is huge. He dominated down near the line of scrimmage at Alabama and demonstrated the athleticism to chase sideline to sideline and lined up against running backs, tight ends and even wide receivers in college.
Reports from training camp have hinted at an inconsistency in Foster’s play in coverage. However, he has performed strongly in an area that was considered a weakness, taking the ball away, after not registering a single interception in college.
3 picks in four days. @FerrariFoster is starting to make it a daily routine. #49ersCamp pic.twitter.com/eV2a3R8fe0
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 31, 2017
Indeed, Foster recorded interceptions in three of his first four practices and seems to be taking to his transition to the pros with the confidence of a player who is used to performing on the big stage for the most dominant team in college football in recent years.
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Even when thrown into the MIKE backer spot when NaVorro Bowman had a veteran’s rest day Foster has impressed, earning praise from head coach Kyle Shanahan for how he adapted. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said he “did a good job”, per Chris Biderman of The Niners Wire.
The head man also added:
"“We just threw him in there and he started moving a lot. He’s got to make all the calls. I think like anybody in his first time at it, I think he had a few busts. I think there’s good stuff for him to get in and watch the tape and learn from.”"
From the second the 49ers jumped back into the draft’s opening round to take Foster, he became at least their second-most talented linebacker and many would argue his overall skill set surpasses that of an ageing Bowman who is coming off another major injury. Foster has warmed to every task he has been set so far in training camp and is showing the ability to learn and do things he did not do in college.
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He is a player who is used to and ready for the limelight, despite Saleh’s understandable insistence on making him work for his opportunity. There is no reason to hold Foster back from the starting lineup now Smith has been unfortunately reduced to the role of spectator.