49ers draft DL Street despite ACL injury
— The Sports Xchange —
Though he had surgery in March to repair a torn ACL, the San Francisco 49ers used the No. 128 pick in the NFL Draft Saturday on North Carolina State defensive lineman Kentavius Street.
Street was injured while working out with the New York Giants in March. He had surgery on March 17 and will likely miss his rookie season as it typically requires about nine months of recovery time.
“Rehab’s going great,” Street said. “I’m unsure of the timeline and everything, but I’m excited to get to San Francisco and continue my rehab just so I can get back out on the field as soon as possible.”
Street, who can play either tackle or end, was rated the 13th-best defensive tackle prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, which accurately projected he would be selected in the fourth round.
“As far as an athlete, I feel like I’m a well-balanced guy,” Street said. “I feel like I’m really stout against the run, violent hands, low pad level. And then against the pass I just use my quickness, instincts, you know, try to time the snap, stuff like that. And a lot of the things are just studying the offensive linemen that I play. I feel like that plays a very vital role in how I play, just knowing my opponent and the rest just comes natural when I go out there on game day.”
Street was teammates with Bradley Chubb, who was taken No. 5 overall by the Denver Broncos.
Street had 19.5 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks in his four seasons at North Carolina State.
His 9.0 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks as a junior were career highs after he moved from tackle back to defensive end. He added 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 2017 as a senior.
