San Francisco 49ers: Top 5 positions to upgrade and how to upgrade them

No. 5: Defensive End

Why the position must be addressed:

The Niners have a serious pass-rush problem to address this offseason. They ranked an abysmal 26th (tied with the Miami Dolphins with 30) and their top pass-rusher was veteran stopgap Elvis Dumervil with 6.5 sacks.

Clearly this must change.

How it can be addressed:

Defensive end isn’t the biggest problem the Niners have right now, and they already have a pair of promising youngsters in Arik Armstead and Solomon Thomas. So it is possible we could see them naturally progress into feared pass-rushers next season as is.

However even then, someone should be brought in. Short of achieving a draft miracle in having N.C. State standout Bradley Chubb fall, the Niners are unlikely to aggressively look in the draft for a pass-rusher.

Ezekiel Ansah, however, looks like an interesting get for the Niners. He is injury prone, but Ansah can be rotated as a pass-rushing specialist who can terrorize quarterbacks and take attention away from the younger linemen.

Also look for a later pick to be used on a prospect who’s a natural pass-rusher and can be rotated in on third downs.