2018 NFL Draft Rumors: 49ers 'Covet' Tremaine Edmunds with No. 9 Pick

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly targeting Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds with the ninth overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

On Tuesday, Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst reported the Niners won't trade out of their current top-10 slot if Edmunds is available because "he is the player the team covets."

Edmunds is coming off a rock-solid junior campaign with the Hokies.

The 19-year-old Virginia native racked up 108 total tackles, 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles across 13 games. He posted 94 tackles and 4.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2016.

Pro Football Focus' draft feed highlighted another key stat:

Yet, Niners general manager John Lynch downplayed the idea of focusing on any single prospect heading into the draft, per Brad Almquist of KNBR.

"I think this thing could break in a ton of different directions," Lynch said. "I think what's important for us being at nine, is you don't fall in love with one player and say, 'That's the guy…' As we showed last year, we are going to be aggressive in finding the guys we like."

San Francisco does need help at the linebacker level, though.

Edmunds, who could play either inside or outside in the team's 4-3 defensive scheme, could be an immediate starter for a 49ers defense that ranked 24th in yards allowed last season.