The 49ers took three defensive linemen in the first four rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, including first-round EDGE Mykel Williams, second-round DT Alfred Collins (No. 43), and fourth-round DT CJ West. San Francisco DC Robert Saleh said it’s important to have rookies contribute early and hopes they can quickly get acclimated to the NFL.

“I think of all the major sports, the NFL relies on rookies more than any of them,” Saleh said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “You come in, and it’s like throw your kiddo in the water and just go swim. Those rookies, they’re going to make mistakes. The hope is that they can acclimate well enough where they don’t make the same mistake twice … But you throw them in.”

Saleh called Williams a “three-way player” and can see glimpses of a “special” defensive lineman

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