Adam Carriker's name keeps coming up in NFL Mock Drafts, and a few of those mock drafts have Husker first-rounder Adam Carriker going to the San Francisco 49ers. We asked David from SBNation blog Niners Nation to comment on why Adam Carriker would be a good fit for the 49ers:
After a rush of free agent activity the last few days, the 49ers still have several holes to fill if they want to compete for a playoff spot in 2007. One of the biggest needs is a better pass rush, an issue that carries over from last year. The 49ers defense finished with 34 sacks, while giving up 223 yards passing per game, in the bottom quarter of the league. Every game revealed this weakness as quarterbacks were able to pick apart the defense thanks in large part to having an eternity of time to make a decision.
This is where Adam Carriker comes into play. The 49ers currently start Bryant Young and Marques Douglas at the two end positions in the 3-4 front. Young was re-signed to a 1-year deal as he is quickly reaching the end of his career. Douglas, on the other hand, has never established himself as more than an average lineman. While 49ers fans would love to see a guy like Carriker starting right off the bat, a perfect situation would see Adam Carriker steadily increasing his playing time over the course of the season while learning from a defensive great like BY and taking over completely in 2008.
Finally, my own research into Carriker indicates he is a player with a good head on his shoulder that would be a good teammate. Since taking over, 49ers head coach Mike Nolan has made it clear that character is an important issue (see: the release of Antonio Bryant). With that in mind, I think Carriker would be a perfect fit for this team as they climb back into the playoff chase in 2007.
David
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Niners Nation- The Premier 49ers blog on the Web
We will have a NFL Draft Preview available in the next couple of days for Adam Carriker, as we've done for Brandon Jackson recently. Stay tuned!