The 49ers are set to host a private workout for LSU edge-rusher Arden Key, he said during an interview with NFL Network’s “Path to the Draft,” making him the 10th player to visit with the team prior to the draft. The Saints and 49ers are the only two teams who have set up private workouts with Key, who’s projected to go somewhere in the first two rounds.
Key said on NFL Network that he will have a visit with the 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., along with the private workout. He also said he has visits planned with the Redskins, Titans, Bears and Cowboys.
The 49ers hold the ninth overall pick in the draft. They’ve also held private visits with Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker, Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter, Iowa center James Daniels, Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, Yale defensive back Foye Oluokon, Kansas State wide receiver Byron Pringle, Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith and Florida State wide receiver Auden Tate.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- The Rams are just about out of cap space after a flurry of pickups — most-recently acquiring wide receiver Brandin Cooks from the Patriots — and have seven current starters due to become unrestricted free agents next offseason. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez pointed to three reasons why Rams general manager Les Snead is confident the team will compete for a Super Bowl beyond 2018, with the first being the value at quarterback the team is getting with Jared Goff. Gonzalez also noted the team will be near the top of the league when it comes to available salary cap over the next two offseasons and that they have a young offensive core in Goff, Todd Gurley, Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp.
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hinted at where the team may go with the No. 19 overall pick in the draft. “There is some defensive talent that has a chance to drop,” Jones said via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “Therein lies your opportunity. … If a number of quarterbacks are taken, a number of running backs are taken, two or three of those offensive tackles hit. Really as much as anything there could be a couple of guards taken ahead of us.”
- Yale outside linebacker Matt Oplinger — last year’s Ivy League Defensive MVP — was apart of the contingent at the Giants‘ local pro day on Friday, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN (on Twitter). Raanan also reported (on Twitter) that the Giants hosted Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki for a visit but it won’t count toward their 30 afforded visits because he is a New Jersey native.