49ers selected Georgia EDGE Robert Beal with the No. 173 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Beal (6’4/247) is a former four-star defensive end who spent six seasons in Athens, biding his time until last year when he finally earned a starting role due to UGA’s outrageously deep talent pool. He accrued 26 pressures and 16 stops with 3.0 sacks last season while receiving a pedestrian 67.8 PFF defensive grade. Athletically, Beal ran an absurd 4.44s 40-yard dash, which is a 99th percentile mark, in addition to 65th percentile agility drills and 34.625” length arms. However he only put up 14 bench reps (8th%) with a 30” vertical (32nd%), which dragged down his overall RAS to a still solid 7.43. His burst off the line shows on tape, however, he doesn’t rush with a plan and can be knocked off his rush path too easily. Beal has the physical traits to succeed as an NFL sub-package player but needs to work on his overall rush scheme in order to maximize his tools.
