The San Francisco 49ers selected Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster by trading back into the first round of this past weekend’s NFL Draft.
In acquiring the 31st overall pick, the 49ers gave up their second-round pick (No. 34) and the fourth rounder they got from the Chicago Bears earlier in the day (No. 111) to the Seattle Seahawks, who originally acquired the 31st overall pick from the Atlanta Falcons.
Foster was the second linebacker taken in the first round.
For a variety of reasons, Foster is unquestioningly the best draft pick the 49ers acquired.
Widely regarded as the best linebacker in the draft, Foster was a first team All-American, according to USA Today and the Associated Press, and the 2016 Butkus Award winner for the nation’s best linebacker.