The 49ers stopped the draft slide of Alabama inside linebacker Rueben Foster by trading up into the first round Thursday night.
The 49ers moved up three spots in a trade with the Seahawks to use to the No. 31 pick to take Foster, who last year won the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s best linebacker. The 49ers traded the No. 34 pick and a fourth-round pick (No. 111) to Seattle.
“I was surprised,” Foster said of his slide. “I was very surprised. I thought I wasn’t going to make it (in the first round).