The San Francisco 49ers are back into offseason mode, and one position that’s always talked about with the team at this time of the year is the defensive line.
San Francisco has been known for having an elite
defensive line during the Kyle Shanahan era, but it hasn’t reached that standard the last two seasons, which brings up questions for their plan this offseason.
Last year, the 49ers elected to go younger at defensive line. They released Javon Hargrave, Maliek Collins, and Leonard Floyd and looked to fill those spots via the draft and a trade. The team drafted Mykel Williams in the first round, Alfred Collins in the second round, and C.J. West in the fourth round to infuse some youth into the position group.
They also traded for Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Bryce Huff, who had four sacks, two forced fumbles, a team-high 46 pressures, and a 14.6 percent pass-rush win rate according to PFF.
That group was expected to pair with star pass rusher Nick Bosa, giving the team an elite player to help with some developing talent. Bosa had even been around the team earlier than usual in the offseason to help streamline the process.
However, the year didn’t go as expected. Bosa, who had enjoyed a pretty strong start to the season with 10 pressures and a 20 percent pass-rush win rate through 2.5 games, tore his ACL in Week 3, ruling him out for the season. That took away a major component of the 49ers defensive front, which struggled to get pressure as a unit from that point on.
Of course, the loss of Fred Warner a few weeks later further emphasized that issue, and the 49ers lost Mykel Williams to a torn ACL as well midway through the year. Still, there’s a ton of young talent returning to the team, while the hope is for Bosa to return around training camp next year.
So, what did the 49ers think of the defensive line group this year, and what can we expect in 2026?
“I think we look at everything there [on the defensive line],” general manager John Lynch said this week. “I will tell you, I don’t think [the issues we had] was scheme-related. Yes, everything ties together, rush and coverage, all of those things. Certain players, you never want to make excuses, but certain players, it’s not only their impact, but they’re force multipliers. They make everybody else around them better.
“And I think Nick was that, I think Mykel was just catching on. You know, we’ve got to be better there. We understand that. That’s always been at the forefront of our philosophy to make life miserable on opposing quarterbacks and to wreak havoc, and we need to do better there, and we intend on doing that.”
The 49ers are better positioned financially this offseason after making such drastic moves with their roster cuts last year, and could very well target a defensive lineman in free agency on top of their returning pieces. With Bosa being a bookend on the edge, a defensive tackle could be a good idea, allowing Alfred Collins and C.J. West to continue developing while competing for the other spot in the middle.
But the 49ers acknowledged their issues this year were much more personnel-related than scheme-related. A part of that was the team’s injuries at the position, but they probably also have to upgrade the room this offseason.
