Why the 49ers top ranked defense could be even better in 2023

Posted By on June 16, 2023

How can you improve when you’re already number one?

It’s easy to understand why observers would question the 49ers emphasis on improving their defense. After all, this unit finished 2022 at the top of the NFL.

During the 49ers State of the Franchise event Thursday afternoon, general manager John Lynch described the holistic approach the team used to identify its primary focus for offseason improvement.

“Kyle (Shanahan) does something that’s tremendous,” Lynch told the audience. “Our offensive coaches watch our defense, and our defensive coaches watch our offense. They come back and personnel’s doing the same thing.”

“You try to get a grasp on ‘where can we get better’ and they kept coming back to the defensive line. Albeit the number one defense in football. It was outstanding but we felt like we had lost a little bit of that dominance on the defensive line when you think back to 2019.”

They weren’t wrong. The 2019 defense featured a ferocious pass rush which sacked opposing quarterbacks’ 8.84 percent of the time they dropped back, good for third best. That percentage fell to just 6.63 last season, putting the 49ers defense in the middle of the league.

To get back towards the top, San Francisco made the acquisition of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave their focus in free agency.

With the addition of Hargrave, San Francisco hopes to regain the strong interior pass rush which was lost when they traded away Deforest Bucker. In 2019, Buckner and Arik Armstead combined for 17.5 sacks from the interior of the 49ers defense.

Hargrave is coming off a season which saw him finish with a career high 11 sacks with the Philadelphia Eagles. His presence inside, along with Arik Armstead returning to full health could be what makes the 49ers defense even better in 2023.

In addition to Hargrave, the 49ers signed edge rushers Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant in free agency while adding Georgia pass rusher Robert Beal Jr. in the fifth round of the draft. The team also hopes to get a boost inside from Kalia Davis. The 2022 sixth round pick missed all of last season due to a knee injury suffered in his final season at the University of Central Florida. Davis practiced with the team for three weeks late last year and looked good throughout the offseason program.

While the focus on improving the defense might have created questions, focusing on the defensive line should not have come as a surprise.

“One of the core principles we really agreed on was we’re going to start up front on defense, those guys are going to drive the bus,” said Lynch. “That’s what we had built. We felt like that had slipped a little bit.”

This article has 21 Comments

  1. Someone no one talks about is Bryant. He has flashed in the past his problem was staying on the field. In the 49ers system and using him in a rotation he could be this seasons surprise D lineman. imho

    1. I included him on the 53 over Kalia Davis, TY McGill, Marlon Davidson and Spencer Waege.
      .
      I agree, he has flashed skills before and could be a good rotation player.

  2. Has this defense improved? They lost Charles Omenihu, Jordan Willis, Samson Ebukam, Azeez Al-Shaiir, Jimmy Ward and Emmanuel Moseley. However, they signed Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant. They think Drake Jackson is a good replacement for Ebukam, and they drafted Robert Beal. They signed Marcelino McCrary-Ball and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and drafted Dee Winters and Jalen Graham. One of those players should replace Azeez. They signed Isaiah Oliver and Myles Hartsfield and have Womack who may replace Jimmy Ward. They drafted Luter, promoted Lenoir and have a healthy Ambry Thomas, who may replace Moseley.
    .
    Above all, the 49ers managed to get the top FA prospect, when they signed Hargrave. He just made this defense scary good.

    1. Imo the big loss is Ebukam. I think they can replace Omenihu and Willis with Ferrell (if he doesn’t start) and Bryant. They’ve already replaced Mosely with Lenoir. Oliver appears to be a worthy replacement for Ward, maybe better in that role. Linebacker is crazy deep. Brown, if as good as advertised, might replace Gipson sometime mid-season. Combine everything with the Hargrave signing and I think it’s going to be harder for teams to move the ball against us. But my main concern is replacing what Ebukam added to the pass rush from the outside. We’ll have to see how much Jackson has improved.

      1. I am hopeful for Jackson. He did well in the early part of the season, but ran out of steam. Now, he has had all offseason to bulk up, get stronger and work on his endurance.

  3. Farrell and Bryant are veteran maybes…..Beal is a rookie that didn’t get a hell of lot of playing time in college….Jackson is getting a lot of positive press…I still think the edge opposite #97 is still a big question mark……a lot of talk about Chase Young, however the knee issue could be a Kinlaw do over, and I don’t think they want to go there…Washington is reportedly willing to listen to inquiries about Montez Sweat….

    1. 55, yes, who starts in place of Ebukam and replaces his productivity is a big question. Imo this is the big question mark about the defense as a whole. (I’m talking about the starters. Depth in the dline is another question.) We’d be fortunate to get an improvement with Ferrell or Jackson. Maybe their plan is to rotate the two and see. As you might agree, Bryant is rotational and Beal is at least one season away. I’m hoping Minnesota will listen to inquiries about Hunter. Maybe they’d take Jackson as part of a trade. Yes, cap would be an issue, so maybe this is not feasible anyway.

      1. Geo,
        From what I understand the cap issues with Hunter don’t happen until 24. He would come pretty cheap this year. There are 2 problems with Hunter first he is unhappy with his current contract and wants it renegotiated and second even if he would play under his current contract he would likely be a one year rental. That being said he could give us a SB this year.

        2. OC, I am wondering if Hunter would take a team discount. He could be counting on winning a ring, then he would be able to garner a big payday in 2024.
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          The big obstacle are the Vikings. They do not want to lose him, and will take a 5 mil cap hit if he leaves. They would certainly want a high draft pick for him, and maybe a replacement DL for him.
          .
          The Vikings want to keep him because they are in good position to compete for the division, with Rodgers leaving. They may decide that Cousins may not be the right QB to lead them to the playoffs, so maybe JL should offer Sam Darnold and Kerry Hyder for Hunter. Maybe JL could up the ante by offering Darnold and Clelin Ferrell for Hunter.
          .
          JL should certainly not offer Lance, and I do not think they want him. JL wants to keep Lance because of the uncertainty about Purdy, and the Vikings do not want a QB who has played in only 4 games in his career, as a possible replacement for Cousins.

  4. The one issue I have with a trade for either Hunter or Young is what do the 49ers give up?
    Lance has been bandied around as a possible trade chip, but if the 49ers QB injuries continue for another season, keeping Lance is critical.

    Hunter would basically be a mercenary for one season and Young is a question mark due to injuries. Trading Lance is a huge gamble, imho.

  5. AES,
    Do you think renting Hunter would bring the 49ers measurably closer to a SB?

    1. Coach,
      That’s a good, yet unknown question. I prefer to gamble on Kucerek and see if he can get Drake and Farrell to play at optimum level.
      Kucerek revived the careers of Key and Omenihu and there’s no reason to believe that can work his magic on two young players.
      I’m staying in-house with our young players.

    2. In my opinion if the defensive backs coach can teach the right fundamentals we will be unstoppable front to back.
      .
      First and foremost, I suggested several years ago that the cornerbacks need to lift up the receiver as they jump to catch the ball.
      .
      A secondary defender ought to put the receiver on his shoulders and they should carry him out of bounds. It’s a strategy I came up with long ago as I studied the rule book but I have yet to see a defensive backs coach implement it.
      .
      It’s high time IMO and I hope these coaches want to win as bad as I do.

      1. Seb,
        If you are talking any further than say 3 yards or so, I think the ref would blow the play dead for lack of foreward motion making it a completed pass. Again if the receiver was any further than a couple yards away from the sideline his teammates wouldn’t allow the DBs to make this play. If the receiver was closer to the sidelines I don’t think he would allow the DB to pick him up and carry him, can you imagine Deebo allowing a DB to pick him up and carry him?

        1. OC, looks like my catfish account is still impersonating me. Sorry that I can’t continue posting here, but I will not let him impersonate me.
          .
          I think it is not a novel idea to use the side line as a defensive tool. I have seen too many plays where the defender is too late to make a play on the ball, with the receiver tapping his toes in bounds to complete the catch. However, if they had picked up a leg and forced it out of bounds it would have made the catch an incomplete pass. Picking up a player and carrying him out of bounds is hyperbole.
          .
          I am certain that these coaches want to win more than me. Their jobs depend on it.
          .
          Good luck and good bye.

          1. Mental health in this country is a problem that needs a lot more attention than we give it.

              1. OC, I don’t think you can get Seb to admit that…
                I think he was serious about pulling down a receiver and if it’s legal it might actually be a great surprise move if he can get the ball to pop out.

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