Getty 49ers general manager John Lynch on January 1, 2023 in Las Vegas.
Indianapolis will once again welcome John Lynch and other members of the San Francisco 49ers front office with the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine on deck from February 28 to March 6.
The general manager Lynch is anticipated to talk with reporters on Tuesday, February 28 regarding the state of the Niners heading to ’23. But he’s also there to help discover some potential mid-round gems, as the 49ers do not hold a first or second round selection for the April draft. No need to panic as Lynch and company have discovered late finds in Indy before — a la George Kittle, Talanoa Hufanga, Deommodore Lenoir and most recently Brock Purdy…all of whom fell to the fifth round or the last pick of the draft.
And that’s where 49ers insider David Lombardi believes one Mid-American Conference (MAC) star who “exploded” his senior season is the prospect to watch for Lynch and company during the week of discovering the next rookie class.
“How about Central Michigan’s Thomas Incoom?” Lombardi asked on Tuesday. “The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder exploded to 11 1/2 sacks over his recently concluded senior season. He looks to have a nice burst off the ball and very long arms, both traits that 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek could absolutely work with opposite Bosa.”
Breakdown of Incoom
Incoom certainly has the tenacity and edge rush moves that would make him coveted by teams searching for a pass rusher in the later rounds.
For starters, he’s already got an edge in reacting to the snap of the football as he’s explosive enough to already across the line of scrimmage once the ball moves.
With his anchor and base, he’s not one to get bowled over by offensive tackles — even if they have a height and weight advantage over him.
Finally, in looking at if there’s any pass rushing consistency in his game, one look at his 2022 season immediately blows off the word “inconsistency.” Incoom delivered a sack in 10 of his 12 games at CMU. And one of those sacks came against Power 5 foe Oklahoma State from the Big 12. Outside of sacks, Incoom delivered four solo tackles facing Penn State.
Most recently in Mobile, Alabama, Incoom showed off more pass rush moves and forcing quarterbacks to run when working against Power 5 offensive linemen.
Would he Become an Instant 49ers Fit?
Lombardi asked the question of how well Incoom will stack up against a deeper pool of offensive linemen in front of scouts and GMs including Lynch and the 49ers.
“Just how well does Incoom measure up next to other options, both athletically and in terms of team fit? We should get some answers to that question over the next week when testing begins at the NFL combine and the 49ers go through their battery of player interviews,” Lombardi said. “Perhaps Incoom, who’s projected to be a mid-round draft pick right in the team’s sweet spot of selections, will be one of them.”
Meanwhile, nfl.com draft expert Lance Zierlein believes he can be an average backup or special teamer while comparing Incoom to Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Tarron Jackson. He adds that “many of his sacks over the last two seasons have come thanks to his strong, secondary effort.”
Incoom isn’t someone who would come in and press last season’s top draft choice for the 49ers Drake Jackson. But can be a situational rusher learning from Bosa, Kocurek and the rest of the DL room in the Bay. Especially with the 49ers facing the possibility of losing ends Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu via free agency.