The 49ers Pass Rush
Heading into 2018, San Francisco’s pass rush figured to be one of the team’s key weaknesses. After all, the team finished with a mere 30 sacks last season, and the team’s leading pass-rusher from a year ago, Elvis Dumervil, is no longer with the squad.
Don’t tell that to the 49ers, though.
Aaron Tan described what he saw from the Niners’ crop of outside pass-rushers, namely Jeremiah Attaochu and Cassius Marsh:
"Edge rushers Cassius Marsh and Jeremiah Attaochu were putting pressure on the quarterbacks all practice long. Since this was a no-contact practice, all the quarterbacks comfortably completed their passes on every snap. However, in a real-game situation, most of the completions would actually turn out to be sacks by the two. Interior defensive lineman DeForest Buckner also earned a lot of great pressure from the inside."
And 49ers.com’s Joe Fann backed up Tan’s assessment of all three defenders.
49ers general manager John Lynch largely avoided adding a key pass-rusher this offseason, putting his faith in players like Attaochu and Marsh to create the necessary pressure from the outside.
So far, the gamble appears to be paying off, and the Niners pass rush looks far better than expected.