Niners visit with potential No. 10 pick

UPDATE: Michael Oher has not yet visited the 49ers. He is scheduled to visit.

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Each NFL team is allowed 30 visits from draft-eligible players leading up to the draft. The 49ers got the process started two days ago (will get the process started in the near future).

Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher visited (is scheduled to visit) the 49ers’ team offices and practice facility in Santa Clara on Friday. He met with coaches and team officials.

 

His stock is reportedly on the rise after a strong Pro Day last week. He ran a 5.16 in the 40, had a 31-inch vertical leap and bench-pressed 225 pounds 23 times (still not great, but an improvement over his combine effort).

 

Oher is considered one of the top-four offensive tackles in the draft. Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe seem to be the consensus top-two tackles. Andre Smith and Oher are also potential high picks.

 

Oher is certainly a possibility for the 49ers in the No. 10 spot. But this is just a routine part of the draft process. If the 49ers did not spend a lot of time with a prospect at the all-star games, combine or during a campus visit, they’ll bring in a player for a more thorough visit.

 

The 49ers agreed to terms last week with veteran free-agent Marvel Smith. The club’s stated philosophy is to take the best player on the board in the early rounds. So even though the 49ers have a tentative starting offensive line already in place, there is nothing to prevent them from taking an offensive lineman – if they believe he is the best-player available.

 

There is no word on other players who might be scheduled for a visit, though all the Cal, Stanford and San Jose State players – as well as local kids who played college ball elsewhere – are allowed to visit the 49ers during their “local combine” without it counting against the team’s total of 30.

 

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Earlier today, ProFootballTalk reported that Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji is scheduled to visit the 49ers in the near future. Raji is another candidate for the No. 10 overall pick.

 

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Last year, the only confirmed player the 49ers brought to Santa Clara and later drafted was wide receiver Josh Morgan. Among the other out-of-the-area players to travel to Santa Clara were Derrick Harvey, Phillip Merling, Quentin Groves and Malcolm Kelly.

 

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