NFL: Free agency fits for the top 10 teams in terms of cap space

#5. San Francisco 49ers – Ezekiel Ansah

Before selecting Mike McGlinchey with the ninth overall pick last year, the 49ers had drafted three straight defensive linemen with their first round picks. While Arik Armstead has been flexed out wide at times and Solomon Thomas was drafted as a 3-4 defensive end with the expectation to make a living on the edge, those two and DeForest Buckner all fit best at 3-technique, where they can line up in the B-gap and just get upfield.

To me, Armstead should have been traded a while ago and Thomas should at least move inside on passing downs, but even with both of them on the roster, San Francisco has no viable options to truly stress offensive tackles on third downs. Cassius Marsh and Ronald Blair each had 5.5 sacks last season, but those guys are more rotational pieces for me.

I do expect John Lynch to get one of the three elite draft prospects with that second overall pick – that is either Nick Bosa, Quinnen Williams or Josh Allen. Bosa and Allen would immediately upgrade the defensive end position while Williams could be a perfect fit as that shade nose tackle for them. Either way, a veteran presence to come off one edge to complement that could really help.

Ziggy Ansah might turn 30 next season and has missed 13 games due to injury these last three seasons, but even at this stage of his career, he might not have even reached his potential yet. The former fifth overall pick came out of nowhere his senior year and put himself into top ten conversations thanks to the freakish athleticism he displayed at the combine after less than three years of any football experience.

Ansah made an immediate impact for the Lions and became a Pro Bowler in just his third season, collecting 14.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. After a disappointing season under the franchise tag, he is set to hit the open market and I could see the Niners taking a chance on him, considering they brought in his former D-line coach Kris Kocurek about a month ago.