Rookie Alfred Collins Must Adjust to the 49ers' Defensive Scheme

The 49ers made a drastic decision this offseason.

They cut not just one but both of their starting defensive tackles -- Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins -- and replaced them with a couple rookies.

One of the rookies was second-round pick Alfred Collins. He's supposed to start right away at 3-technique defensive tackle. But he didn't play in an attacking-style defense in college -- he played in a read-and-react defense. So he'll need to adjust to the 49ers' style of play according to defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.

"You look for the skill set on tape that he has the ability to play within our scheme," Kocurek said. "We don't want to ever just draft a big guy just to draft a big guy. He still has to have the skill set that we call for within the scheme. You see enough of it on tape. He did play more of a frog stance read, but there are times in passing situations where they kind of turned him loose and you saw the explosiveness in his body, you saw his ability to change direction, the speed to pursue the ball, the change of speed to go fetch plays downfield and use his length. So yeah, it's going to be a little bit of a learning curve -- 17 years in the NFL, I've dealt with that a lot. He'll be alright. We have time through camp to adjust to it. He'll be fine."

Unfortunately for the 49ers, Collins reaggravated a calf injury before the draft and hasn't been able to practice yet. Which means he hasn't been able to adjust to the 49ers' scheme or learn their techniques yet.

To be fair, it's only June, and he'll have plenty of time to learn when he needs to know in training camp. But he can't afford to miss any more time. He's a rookie who needs all the training he can get.