The San Francisco 49ers are hosting Oklahoma defender Kendal Daniels for a visit, per NFL Insider Aaron Wilson.
Daniels is 6’5, 242 pounds. He was more of a hybrid defender for Brent Venables’ defense at Oklahoma. He’s walked down on the line of scrimmage, played in the slot, or played as a strong or weakside off-ball linebacker. Let’s just call him a versatile second-level defender who is likely to play underneath coverage. That’s who Daniels was at Oklahoma.
He is not projected to be drafted, according
to the consensus big board. However, the 49ers have had success in the UDFA pool at this position. Look no further than Azeez Al-Shaair.
Daniels was an early-down player and not part of the Sooners’ sub-packages. His athletic testing at Oklahoma’s pro day may explain both why that was the case and why Venables used Daniels exclusively around the line of scrimmage.
Daniels had a vertical jump of 29.5 inches, which is three inches worse than that of 313-pound left tackle Caleb Lomu. A 4.75 40-yard dash is about a half step faster than Trent Williams. Jake Brendel ran a 4.27 short shuttle. Daniels ran 4.32.
Surprisingly, Daniels saw 57 snaps at free safety last season. He played all over. Literally, he had 92 snaps lined up on the defensive line, another 192 in the box, and 196 in the slot. Daniels also played on all the special teams units for Oklahoma.
Under Raheem Morris, Daniels likely plays the role of Kaden Eliss. The Swiss Army Knife that can serve multiple purposes. He’s big enough to hold his own near the line of scrimmage. You could see Daniels’ aggression when it was time to take on blocks. You can’t ignore his athletic limitations, but Daniels showed enough football awareness and instincts to suggest he could carve out a role as a pro, even if it’s a special teamer.
Even if the 49ers don’t draft or sign Daniels, it gives us an idea of the body types and positions the team is considering a week before the NFL Draft.
The 49ers would be wise to add a linebacker. After Fred Warner, who is coming off a serious season-ending injury, Dee Winters and Dre Greenlaw are the other players with starter-level experience, but they have one year remaining on their contracts.
After those three, you’re looking at Nick Martin, Tatum Bethune, Luke Gifford, and Garret Wallow. You’re an injury away from one of those players stepping onto the field.
