With the No. 40 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Florida State Seminoles defensive end Cornellius Carradine. Carradine is the No. 14-rated player in the draft rankings from SB Nation's Dan Kadar and the fourth-rated defensive end.
NFL Draft results 2013: Cornellius Carradine selected by 49ers with No. 40 pick
Tank Carradine should help spell Justin Smith on the 49ers defensive line and serve as his eventual replacement.
Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE
Carradine started the 2011 season as Werner's backup and appeared to struggle with adjusting to the speed of the game. That adjustment took approximately four games and starting with the Clemson game he was consistently good. San Francisco is thrilled to land Carradine at No. 40 as at one point it was rumored they would have to trade up in the first round to land the Florida State product. The 49ers have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, but they are getting on in age and San Francisco needed to add some youth to the rotation. Jason Smith is 33 and both he and Aldon Smith are coming off injury. The addition of Carradine should keep everyone fresher and let the 49ers wreak even more havoc on defense.
In a prospect profile on SB Nation, the following was listed as a positive for Carradine:
Carradine has protoypical size for a defensive end in a 4-3 alignment in the modern day NFL at 6'4, 276 pounds, and has good length with an arm length of nearly 35 inches. Carradine also has good size hands (10.25-inch hands). He is a very athletic player who explodes off the snap. He was really developing as a player this year after seeing just limited time in 2011 and playing at a junior college prior to that. He has big, strong, heavy hands and does a good job of steering the offensive linemen before disengaging and making a play. He gets more publicity for his pass-rushing, but immediately in the NFL he'll be a better run-stopper
Combine results
Carradine didn’t participate in the combine due to injury.
He was a force of nature in 2012, racking up 11 sacks in as many games for the Seminoles alongside first-round pick, Bjoern Werner. A Cincinnati native, the senior had one of the best seasons of any defensive end in the country, using his athleticism to his advantage.
However, Carradine’s season ended in November due to a torn ACL. The injury is not expected to keep him out of any regular-season time and he looked great in his workouts, but it’s still worthy of watching to see how he progresses through rehab.
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