The 49ers drafted Jullian Taylor in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, out of Temple, and the team spoke of the rarity in being able to draft a player with Taylor’s high level physical traits that late in the draft.
Taylor’s availability in the seventh round was undoubtedly due to his college career being heavily impacted by knee injuries, but he broke out in his final season, mainly as a high level interior run defender. His defensive scheme in college is very similar to the one run by the 49ers, and Taylor has spoken about the similarities between his roles early on as a 49er and what he did in college.