Arik Armstead to 49ers: Twitter Reacts as DE Is Selected in 2015 NFL Draft

With Jim Tomsula taking over as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was anybody surprised when the Niners went defense in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft?

San Francisco selected Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Arik Armstead with the 17th overall pick. The 49ers originally had the 15th pick but sent that selection to the San Diego Chargers for the 17th and 117th picks and a 2016 fifth-rounder, per Around The NFL.

Bleacher Report provided Armstead's quantitative stats:

Team CEO Jed York telegraphed the pick when he sent this tweet out—Armstead is a native of Sacramento:

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted that the 49ers have had interest in Armstead for some time:

Armstead is a very good interior pass-rusher, but the bulk of his value—especially right away—will come against the run. Pro Football Focus highlighted just how good the former Duck is when defending the run:

Tomsula has plenty of experience working with defensive linemen. He was the 49ers' DL coach from 2007 to 2014. ESPN's Mike Sando figures Tomsula might be the guy to help get the best out of Armstead:

Selecting Armstead is a bit of a gamble since he remains a work in progress. The physical traits are all there, but he did have stretches of games in college where he went absent. He can't afford to do that at the next level.

With that said, under Tomsula's tutelage, Armstead could very well fulfill his massive potential. Should he do so, the 49ers will have gotten great value in the first round.