The San Francisco 49ers has a glaring hole on the defensive edge coming into the 2018 season, but there are three potential options to fill it.
One of the biggest flaws of the San Francisco 49ers entering this season is their pass rush. The team had only 30 sacks last year which was 26th in the league. Even worse, 6.5 of those sacks — or over 20 percent — came from EDGE Elvis Dumervil, who the 49ers released in the offseason.
If you prefer advanced metrics, the Niners ranked 29th in adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders. Adjusted sack rate is the percentage of sacks per pass attempt. The league averaged 6.7 percent, whereas the 49ers were at 5.0 percent.
Pass-rushers are even more important to the NFL now than ever before. Just look back at the previous Super Bowl winners. The Eagles, Broncos, and Seahawks all had an outstanding pass rush. Even the Patriots have had serviceable edge rushers during their run.
There are a few reasons why having talented edge rushers would benefit the 49ers. First, it would help unleash defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. According to Pro Football Focus (h/t espn.com), Buckner ranked third among interior linemen with 52 quarterback pressures. PFF also tweeted out how Buckner led interior linemen with 19 quarterback hits, more than Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald:
DeForest Buckner delivered more quarterback hits than any other player on the defensive interior last season. pic.twitter.com/EjiTJ7PidN
— PFF (@PFF) May 27, 2018
Yet for all his ability to pressure the quarterback, Buckner only had three sacks this year.
A lot of that has to do with the lack of an edge rush. Without the pocket collapsing on the outside, quarterbacks can just run away from Buckner. Or, even better for them, throw before he can reach them. Most of his “almost” sacks become actual sacks with a proper edge rush.
Another reason why the 49ers need to acquire some edge rushers is that they have no real depth at the position. For three out of the last four years, they have drafted defensive linemen, such as Arik Armstead, Buckner, and Solomon Thomas. In 44 combined games, Armstead and Thomas have nine sacks between them.
Even more important, neither Thomas or Armstead will be playing the LEO position for passing downs. The LEO position is considered the pass-rush position on the defensive line. Niners general manager John Lynch (h/t Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee) said that Thomas would play LEO for early downs, while Armstead would be in the strong side position:
Lynch said Arik Armstead, a Leo last year, will line up at ‘big end’ on base downs and that Solomon Thomas will be Leo on early downs.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) April 23, 2018
In passing situations, “inside is where ’s going to make his hay,” according to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh (h/t David Fucillo of NinersNation). Although this could lead to big things from Thomas, it would also leave a hole at the LEO position.
The other options for the position on the 49ers are not very inspiring. Neither Cassius Marsh nor Jeremiah Attaochu have ever consistently played well. They should not stop the 49ers from making a move to bolster the pass rush. There’s no risk to trying to improve an unstable situation. Best-case scenario, if Attaochu and Marsh play at unbelievable levels, the 49ers now have two more edge rushers to rotate in games.
Luckily for the 49ers, there are a few ways to acquire such talent.
Even with training camp around the corner, there are talented edge rushers still available on the free-agent market. Another benefit of training camp is that certain players will become available for trades. Whether the team can’t afford to pay a player, or they just want to cut ties with them, the 49ers could pounce and snag a potential steal.
Let’s take a look at three players the 49ers could acquire and how.