SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A few quick thoughts on the San Francisco 49ers’ first-round draft pick.

The pick: Arik Armstead, defensive lineman, Oregon

My take: The epitome of need meeting best player available. With the likelihood of Justin Smith retiring rather than returning for a 15th NFL season growing stronger, the 6-foot-8, 290-pound Armstead checks the boxes. The tallest defensive player selected in the first round of the NFL draft in the common draft era, Armstead is more run-stopper than edge rusher, and that’s fine for a defense retuning itself in the wake of the retirements of inside linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland. In 2014, the Niners allowed an average of 4.0 yards per rush for the first time since 2006.

And then some: The Niners had been linked to Armstead for some time in many mock drafts -- I selected him in our NFL Nation mock draft on Monday -- and the Niners were able to pick up two more picks, a fourth-rounder this year and a fifth-rounder next year, by trading with the San Diego Chargers. So yeah, the Niners got their man, so to speak, and were still able to get more. As such, the Niners now have 10 picks overall -- No. 17 (first round), No. 46 (second round), No. 79 (third round), No. 117 (fourth round), No. 126 (fourth round), No. 132 (fourth round), No. 151 (fifth round), No. 190 (sixth round), No. 246 (seventh round), No. 254 (seventh round) -- in this draft.

On-the-job training: The Niners are breaking in a new coach in Jim Tomsula, and he knows defensive linemen, so with Armstead’s skills being a good match for the Niners’ 3-4 scheme, the learning curve should not be that pronounced. His athleticism -- he also played basketball at Oregon -- will be a plus, and while many see him as a project, the presence of the newly signed Darnell Dockett, Tank Carradine and Tony Jerod-Eddie will help Armstead's development while hiding some shortcomings as a pass-rusher. He had the fewest tackles for loss (5.5) and the third-fewest sacks (2.5) among the top 10 defensive line prospects, according to Scouts Inc. And his 49.8 percent defensive snap rate is the lowest of any top DL/OLB prospect, per Stats LLC, as he played in 13 of Oregon’s 15 games. Still, he’s already played at Levi’s Stadium twice, against Cal and in the Pac-12 championship game last year. He’s 2-0 in Santa Clara. And he’s from nearby Sacramento.