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Could a safety convince the 49ers to draft from Alabama for the first time since 2017?

Since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch took over as head coach and general manager of the 49ers, they have largely avoided picking players from a perennial college powerhouse that has seen its prospects dominate the NFL Draft in the 21st century.

Twenty-three Alabama players have been selected in the first round since 2017, with just one of those picks made by the Niners.

That came in the first year of the Shanahan-Lynch regime, as San Francisco selected linebacker Reuben Foster with the 31st overall pick. Foster, who had previously received a glowing endorsement from Nick Saban, did not even last two seasons with the team before continued off-field issues led to his release.