49ers Undrafted Standout Is Highly Acclaimed After Comparing Himself to D.J. Jones

One of the newest 49ers already is drawing comparisons to a former Niners great.

San Francisco last month signed Evan Anderson as an undrafted free agent, and 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek said the defensive tackle out of Flordia Atlantic reminds him of former 49ers defensive tackle D.J. Jones.

“I think he’s down to about 315 [pounds] right now, which is good, kind of the targeted weight we envisioned for him,” Kocurek told reporters Wednesday. “Watching tape of him in college, every time I plugged on the tape, he just reminded me of a guy we had in the past, D.J. Jones. Strong with explosive traits in his lower body to be able to explode out of his stance, recreate the line of scrimmage, knock back guards — some of the things that D.J. Jones did for us down there playing the 2i from 2019 through 2021 and just the effect that D.J. had on teams in the run game.

“I saw a lot of the same qualities in Evan, really quick feet, he can change directions really fast, has a really thick, explosive lower body, has natural leverage built into his body, another young guy that we’re really excited just to see him come in here every single day and work as hard as he can and stack one day on top of the next and get a little bit better every single day and see where it ends up here come February.”

Jones was selected by the 49ers in the sixth round (No. 198 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft and became a pivotal piece in turning San Francisco’s defense into one of the best in the league against the run.

After five seasons in the Bay, Jones left the Red and Gold in free agency and signed with the Denver Broncos in 2022. Since then, the 49ers have yet to find an adequate replacement.