2011 NFL Mock Draft: San Francisco 49ers Select Da'Quan Bowers

Rd. # Player Pos. College 1 7 Da'Quan Bowers DE Clemson General Manager: JCruize

With the seventh pick of Pride of Detroit's 2011 NFL Mock Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers.

Here is JCruize's reasoning for the pick:

With Mike "I can't win with these guys" Singletary gone in place of rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers are hoping that Jim can have the impact that he had at Stanford. The positives going for San Francisco are that they play in the weak NFC West and also have a league-high 12 draft picks in 2011. With a good draft, Jim and the 49ers could be a player for the division title next season.

There are a few glaring holes in San Francisco's starting lineup. The 49ers are lacking impact players in their back four and in the pass rushing department. In addition to that, the 49ers also would like to improve their starting quarterback and add another offensive lineman to help with Harbaugh's ball-control west coast offense.

With that thinking I had a few players in mind. The obvious one that I think all of us have been seeing in a lot of mock drafts is Patrick Peterson. But with Peterson being off the board early he was not an option. I also was thinking about the quarterback situation. If Blaine Gabbert had fallen to the seventh spot he would have gotten much consideration. As for Cam Newton, I do not feel his skill set fits the WCO and what Harbaugh expects from his quarterback.

I had not even thought about Da'Quan Bowers being here. In my opinion Da'Quan is a top three talent and the best pass rusher in the draft. This was sort of a no brainer pick for me.

Bowers is a 6'3", 280 lbs. DE from Clemson. He explodes off the ball using his brute strength to get to the quarterback. He uses his great awareness to be a force in stopping the run and can lineup on either side of the ball. Bowers stays square to the line of scrimmage and shows good awareness throughout the play and competes, chasing to either sideline even after losing his balance. He takes on multiple blockers (tackles, pulling guards and fullbacks) as they come with violent hands so he can hold his ground. Da'Quan can be used in multiple formations and is a three-down defensive lineman. Bowers will definitely be a force for the 49ers for a long time to come.

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Check out the 2011 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.