Word last month was that 49ers defensive end Justin Smith would join linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland in retiring from the NFL, but Smith said at the time that his decision wasn’t “100 percent.”
Smith hasn’t announced anything about his plans in either direction since then, leaving some uncertainty on the defensive front. The 49ers are going to need some young blood on the defensive line whether or not Smith returns for a 15th season since both he and Darnell Dockett are closer to the end of their careers than the start.
One name under consideration is Oregon’s towering Arik Armstead. Armstead, who is 6-foot-7 and played basketball during his early years in Eugene, is coming off his first year as a full-time football player and Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports that he will be one the 49ers’ pre-draft visitors this month.
Scouts who like Armstead believe he’ll continue to improve now that he’s turned his focus solely to football, something that could make him an appealing choice in the event Smith does return as he’d have a year to refine his skills before the team would need to rely on him heavily.
