Quiton Dial is headed to perhaps the best team in the NFL, as the San Francisco 49ers added to their already incredible draft by selecting the Alabama Crimson Tide defensive end in Saturday’s fifth round. Dial made a name for himself in Nick Saban’s epic Crimson Tide defense in 2012 and helped Alabama win back-to-back NCAA National Championships.
To some, he’s most recently known for his blind-side helmet-to-helmet hit on Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, but that’s the exact kind of physical presence Jim Harbaugh loves on his defense. Patrick Willis isn’t a mean guy, but he will knock your head, socks and limbs off in a game if you get in his way. That’s the way the Niners play defense and that’s the way Quinton Dial plays the game.
He’s got work to do before he stands out in the NFL, but the real story here isn’t that Dial was drafted, it’s that he’s joining an epic draft being crafted right now by Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh. Armed with more than enough picks to trade up, the Niners have pretty much stayed put, moving up only slightly and have put together a draft that includes prospects like Eric Reid, Marcus Lattimore, Tank Carradine and now Quinton Dial.
The Niners are going to be strapped for cash soon when it comes to their veterans like Justin Smith, and most will leave the way Dashon Goldson did. But the 49ers are putting together a proverbial who’s who of college football stars and it’s looking like it will translate nicely in the NFL and give the Niners a smooth transition between this current team and the one of the future.