49ers: Jullian Taylor’s role should increase in 2020

The San Francisco 49ers trading away DeForest Buckner should give defensive lineman Jullian Taylor a much better look in 2020, and he can seize the opportunity.

In 2018, San Francisco 49ers then-rookie defensive tackle Jullian Taylor flashed enough promise in training camp and the preseason to suggest he could hold a small but crucial role on the team’s defensive depth.

Taylor saw modest action his rookie year, being active for just six games and boasting seven tackles with one quarterback hit.

In 2019, however, the Niners defensive line was made much deeper, thanks to the additions of edge rushers Dee Ford and Nick Bosa, which ultimately pushed Taylor back down the depth chart and into a position where he played just six games, recorded nine tackles with four of those being for a loss.

One would imagine San Francisco’s seventh-round pick from the 2018 NFL Draft would assume this same kind of fringe role between the active game-day roster and the weekly inactive list where he had been the last two seasons. But that was before the 49ers traded away Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.

Currently, the Niners don’t have any one option to replace Buckner on the D-line, barring an early addition in the upcoming draft. What likely happens is a rotation at the 3-technique spot, splitting up Buckner’s would be snaps among players who largely were used as depth pieces a year ago.

While a good chunk of the focus will go on the 49ers’ top pick from the 2017 NFL Draft, defensive end Solomon Thomas, Taylor stands to benefit from the depth chart thinning out along the interior.

What made Taylor stand out that 2018 preseason was a solid pass rush. That year, he recorded two exhibition-level sacks with seven total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. While these efforts have to be taken with a proverbial grain of salt, Taylor did display enough to suggest he can offer decent third-tier pass-rushing abilities from the interior and off the edge.

This kind of versatility can do a lot of good, as the 6-foot-5 lineman showcased some solid prowess back during his collegiate years at Temple, particularly looking at his 11 tackles for a loss back in 2017.

Taylor’s ability to penetrate opposing offensive lines should be the element San Francisco looks to boost this upcoming training camp and into the regular season.

Again, Taylor shouldn’t be assumed to fill a massive void within the 49ers defense. It’s not his game. Nor would this expectation level be fair to a player who’ll likely cap out as a moderate rotational piece.

That said, barring any additional moves the Niners make in the upcoming NFL Draft, Taylor should see a considerable rise in the number of snaps he sees this season, which stood at a mere 101 on defense a year ago.