Pros of the 49ers Trading for Khalil Mack
As of now, the Niners’ two primary edge rushers are Cassius Marsh and Jeremiah Attaochu. Combined, the two have a total of 16 sacks over the last four seasons — just one more than Khalil Mack had in his 2015 campaign alone.
| Game | Game | Def | Def | Def | Def | Def | Fumb | Fumb | Fumb | Sack | Sack | Sack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | Sk | Tkl | Ast |
| 2014 | 23 | OAK | LB | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 59 | 16 |
| 2015*+ | 24 | OAK | DE/lb | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 57 | 20 |
| 2016*+ | 25 | OAK | DE | 16 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 11.0 | 54 | 19 |
| 2017* | 26 | OAK | DE | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10.5 | 61 | 17 |
| Care | Care | 64 | 64 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 40.5 | 231 | 72 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/2/2018.
Mack turned 27 years old last February, meaning he’s just now hitting the prime of his career.
Pro Football Focus ranked Mack the No. 7 overall player entering 2018. Putting things into perspective, that’s higher than Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (No. 10) and Denver Broncos EDGE Von Miller (No. 8).
The two most important positions on a football field are the quarterback and a top-tier pass-rusher. San Francisco has the first, Jimmy Garoppolo, but are yet to discover the second.
As a result, the Niners defense will likely struggle this season, unless a move is made or the Marsh-Attaochu tandem massively overachieves.
Unlike the Raiders, the 49ers are laden with cap space — over $42 million, to be exact — and could afford dishing out what will likely be a hefty contract extension to arguably the league’s best outside rusher.
It gets better.
Adding a player of Mack’s caliber would also free up San Francisco’s best defender, DeForest Buckner, whom PFF ranked the No. 43 overall player entering 2018.
Buckner’s pass-rush ability has been hindered by the lack of an edge rush, and his mere three sacks last season are a testament to that, despite his 52 quarterback pressures last season. All an opposing QB has to do is move to either side.
It wouldn’t happen if Mack was converging from the other end.