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San Francisco 49ers: 2017 midterm positional grades after Week 8

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a four-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: C.J. Beathard #3 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a four-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 29: Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles is tackled after a short gain by DeForest Buckner #99 of the San Francisco 49ers in the first half during their game at Lincoln Financial Field on October 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 29: Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles is tackled after a short gain by DeForest Buckner #99 of the San Francisco 49ers in the first half during their game at Lincoln Financial Field on October 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Defensive Line

The way things are right now, second-year defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is the best and most-consistent player the 49ers have on their roster.

Buckner is currently ranked the No. 5 overall interior defensive lineman this season, per Pro Football Focus, with an overall grade of 90.0. That’s elite status right there.

And while Buckner hasn’t been rewarded with lofty sack totals — just 1.5 in eight games — his pocket-wrecking abilities sure have been difference makers. And the Niners need as much of that as they can get.

SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 10: Solomon Thomas #94 of the San Francisco 49ers matches up against Matt Kalil #75 of the Carolina Panthers at Levi’s Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 10: Solomon Thomas #94 of the San Francisco 49ers matches up against Matt Kalil #75 of the Carolina Panthers at Levi’s Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

What the 49ers Are Doing Well

Putting Buckner at the 3-technique spot along San Francisco’s defensive line was smart. This has forced opponents’ offensive lines into situations where they need to double Buckner with both a guard and tackle, opening up potential pass-rush lanes off the edge.

EDGE production has been a problem, and we’ll get to that in a second, but another area of focus is rookie defensive end Solomon Thomas.

Thomas sprained his MCL in Week 8, which will force him to miss some time, but we’ve seen some flashes of brilliance from the first-round draft pick. Keyword being flashes, of course.

Overall, San Francisco’s D-line has done a good job defending against the run, which was such a problem a year ago. The Niners are 17th in this category, according to Football Outsiders, which is up from 29th in 2016.

What Needs Improvement

Staying healthy is an obvious concern, as the team has lost defensive tackle/EDGE Arik Armstead to an elongated hand injury.

But the biggest issue, by far, has been the pass rush. Or lack of it.

Coordinator Robert Saleh’s defense calls for its premier pass-rusher to operate out of the right-defensive end position, or LEO. The Niners have tried to rotate Armstead, Aaron Lynch and Elvis Dumervil out of this spot, but Dumervil has been the only one to stay healthy.

The crafty Dumervil leads the 49ers with 3.5 sacks, but he’s a situational pass-rusher at best this point in his career.

Lynch (calf) has been out of the lineup frequently, and the 49ers have yet to get consistent edge pressure throughout the season.

Grade: C