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NFL Mock Draft 2015: San Francisco 49ers Select Arik Armstead

With the fifteenth pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers (represented by The Irish Assassin) select...

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon

The 49ers seem to be this year's "off-season from hell" team, with sudden retirements of Patrick Willis and Chris Borland, losing a proven top level coach, losing their starting RB in free agency, questions about Kaepernick's viability as a franchise QB, having WR Michael Crabtree testing the free agency waters, and DE's Justin Smith aging and Ray MacDonald released due to off-field incidences.

The 49ers addressed the RB situation, signing Reggie Bush to join their platoon.  They also addressed their WR situation by signing Torrey Smith and Jerome Simpson to compliment returning vet Anquan Boldin.  That leaves the biggest needs as ILB and DE, and since I don't see an ILB worth taking this highly in the draft, that makes the pick...

The Pick: Arik Armstead

At 6'7" and 292 pounds, if Armstead added a little more bulk he would fit the mold perfectly for a 3-4 defensive end, and (if he comes back) will have the chance to play with and learn from the successful veteran, Justin Smith.

Strengths: The common term you hear when describing Arik Armstead is "fast-twitch athlete," meaning he's shown the ability to be explosive, with impressive quick bursts.  While maybe a little underweight, he has good size for his position and his long arms should help disrupt the passing lanes, as well as provide a large tackling radius.  He has powerful hands which help him get off blocks.  He showed good improvement from his sophomore year to his junior year.

Weaknesses: The big one, lack of production.  He started 13 games in 2014 (his only season as a full-time starter), pressuring the opposing quarterback 16 times and coming up with only 2.5 sacks, to go along with 4.5 tackles for loss.  He finished his career with 87 tackles (10 of them for a loss) and four sacks.  His height actually hurts him sometimes, as he gets too upright while rushing the passer and loses the leverage battle.  If his initial rush fails, he lacks the move variety to be a consistent force.

The lack of production is worrisome, but the physical presence, raw ability, and huge upside potential make him worth the risk at #15.  To give this pick a little more credence, the 49ers have scheduled a visit with Armstead.

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Thanks to all the CSC members who participated in this year's community mock draft. Without your help, none of this would be possible.

Below are the complete results from our community mock draft.

Catch up with all of the mock draft selections in our 2015 CSC Community Mock Draft Hub.

Pick Team Selection Team Representative Approval Rating
1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston - Florida State
Hans Petersen 82%
2 Tennessee Titans DE Leonard Williams - USC Tee Word 85%
3 Jacksonville Jaguars DE Dante Fowler - Florida Khannar 80%
4 Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper - Alabama arcuate 73%
5 Washington Redskins DE Randy Gregory - Nebraska Lostastic 29%
6 NY Jets OLB Vic Beasley - Clemson BlackandGold4ever 52%
7 Chicago Bears LB Shane Ray - Missouri saintmanumit 28%
8 Atlanta Falcons DE Bud Dupree - Kentucky Dave Choate 46%
9 NY Giants NT Danny Shelton - Washington GoFastTurnLeftMaybeRight 60%
10 St. Louis Rams OT Andrus Peat - Stanford Kevin Sean Held 46%
11 Minnesota Vikings WR Kevin White - West Virginia gulf shores 60%
12 Cleveland Browns QB Marcus Mariota - Oregon ryan_la_sports07 68%
13 New Orleans Saints CB Trae Waynes - Michigan State Dave Cariello
14 Miami Dolphins RB Todd Gurley - Georgia Ralph Malbrough
15 San Francisco 49ers DE Arik Armstead - Oregon The Irish Assassin
16 Houston Texans
quickdrawdoc
17 San Diego Chargers
LeedsSaint
18 Kansas City Chiefs
jmcmillan_93
19 Cleveland Browns
ryan_la_sports07
20 Philadelphia Eagles
Matt Mosley
21 Cincinnati Bengals
coldpizza
22 Pittsburgh Steelers
whodatgermany
23 Detroit Lions
Khannar
24 Arizona Cardinals
saintmanumit
25 Carolina Panthers
Jake White
26 Baltimore Ravens
quickdrawdoc
27 Dallas Cowboys
arcuate
28 Denver Broncos
Ryne Hancock
29 Indianapolis Colts
Alex Lyles
30 Green Bay Packers
Matt Mosley
31 New Orleans Saints
Dave Cariello
32 New England Patriots
Whit Prottsman