Eric Reid was the top safety on the 49ers draft board. General manager Trent Baalke described him as "prototypical" with the ability to support the run and cover with range.
It's an instant upgrade for Vic Fangio's defense.
"He has good size for the position, good speed, he's played at LSU for a lot of years," San Francisco's defensive coordinator told 49ers.com. "We're expecting him to come in here and hopefully learn our system and eventually become a pretty good player for us."
The defensive haul didn't stop for the 49ers after round 1. The 49ers opened the second round with the selection of Florida State defensive end Garrett Celek.
At 6-foot-4, 276 pounds, Carradine could have been drafted much higher had he not suffered a late-season knee injury. Instead, he fell to the 49ers with the 40th overall selection.
"He definitely has some pass rush ability and he may be versatile in that area in that he can rush from the inside or the outside when we're in our sub packages," Fangio said. "He'll join our d-line group and start competing there once he's healthy enough to get on the field."
Carradine's new teammate, Ray McDonald, also had to recover from a knee injury when he was drafted out of the University of Florida. In fact, the two share the same exact height and weight when making the transition from college to the NFL.
Fangio, however, was quick to dismiss any expectations that Carrdine would follow in the footsteps of the 49ers talented lineman, a Pro Bowl alternate in 2012.
"He can only hope to be as good as Ray McDonald some day," Fangio said. "He's got a lot of climbing to do before I'm ready to compare him to Ray."
The 49ers continued to add to the pass rush with the selection of Auburn defensive end Corey Lemonier, a player the 49ers will convert to outside linebacker.
"He's got good speed, pretty good athletic ability," Fangio noted. "Time will tell with him. Patience on our part will be important because those guys go through a transition and many times hit a wall. We feel like he's got enough ability that he'll be a prospect there for us."
San Francisco ended the fifth round with a large addition along the defensive line, 6-foot-5, 318-pound Quinton Dial.
Dial was a part of two BCS Championship teams for the Crimson Tide and has the ability to play multiple defensive line positions. What caught Fangio's eye however, was Dial's upside.
"He's been a good run defender for Alabama, coming from a good program there," Fangio said. "We have hopes for him that he's going to ascend grow and become an even better player than he was in college.
"I think he's got some pass rush ability that's been untapped up to this point. Right now, he's a good run defender, big strong guy, country-strong type of guy and we'll see how he develops."
Fangio will begin working with his new defensive additions in two weeks when the 49ers hold their three-day rookie minicamp starting May 10.
