If you ask me, I totally understand why the 49ers organization is raving about its new rookie linebacker, Rueben Foster.
San Francisco 49ers vice president of personnel Adam Peters supports Foster 110-percent, and even had a conversation with 49ers general manager John Lynch about the former All-American and Butkus Award winner.
“Well, I would tell you that Reuben’s character is what drew me to him,” Lynch said earlier this week. “He’s a guy who can ignite a room with his excitement, with his passion.”
When looking at film, Foster constantly shows up as he keeps jumping out — making himself known in the proces-. The first round pick is expected to help reignite a spark on defense that ranked last in the NFL, and finished last season with a team record of 2-14.
Foster is coming out of a 3-4 defensive scheme at Alabama, so it’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts to the 4-3 scheme once its implemented. Don’t get me wrong though, coaches always should utilize their player’s skill sets correctly so that the player can shine, but it’s also important to adapt to a new system.
The first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft will be surrounded by a group of experienced and talented linebackers who can make great tutors. That can only help Foster take his game to the next level with veterans such as Ahmad Brooks, NaVorro Bowman and Super 48 MVP, Malcolm Smith on board.
All three of these studs know what it takes to have a winning mentality — no matter how deep the water gets — and learning from the best will only help Foster mature as a person while also increasing his skills as a football player.
Lynch who was a member of the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad who acquired the mindset of what it takes to build a “Steel Curtain” type defense. He knows that it all starts with aggressive, hard-hitting athletes. That’s why he made it a point to get Foster onto the roster.
He’s able to do it all. Foster is disciplined, able to shed blockers to get to the quarterback and makes plays all over the field — even creating turnovers while dropping back in zone coverage.
The Bay Area feels as if Foster is the next Patrick Willis — high praise considering Willis was one of the best linebackers to ever player the game — and Lynch is looking forward to his future in the San Francisco 49ers organization.
“The big joke was you turned on Alabama to watch anyone and you couldn’t stop watch Foster,” Lynch said. “He just kind of kept jumping out at you. So, I think while we are all proud to have claimed him, it was pretty easy to do so.”
Michael Cannady is a contributor for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at: @mike_can21
