49ers 2020 training camp: One battle to watch for each position
By Peter Panacy
49ers Defensive Line: How the Rotation Pans Out
Even after trading away Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner this offseason, the 49ers still boast one of the deepest and most talented defensive lines in all the NFL entering 2020.
And some may argue it could potentially get better if the Niners’ top pick from this year’s draft, South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw, meets expectations as soon as possible.
Kinlaw will be given every opportunity to fill Buckner’s void while joining returning veterans Arik Armstead, Dee Ford and Nick Bosa up front. Tack on nose tackle D.J. Jones, and it’s not hard to see why there’s quite an overstock among the starting crop.
Yet one of the primary reasons why San Francisco’s D-line was so good last year was due to its depth. And that depth was tested to the extreme in 2019, especially after Jones and defensive end Ronald Blair were lost to season-ending injuries. Defensive tackle Sheldon Day also walked in free agency, and there are going to be a number of new roles to be earned behind the big names atop the depth chart.
One player to watch is another former first-round draft pick, defensive end Solomon Thomas, who’ll look to at least carve out a rotational role after failing to solidify himself as an anchor point for the 49ers defense.
Thomas, Blair and a number of other depth players have a lot to prove entering this season, and their efforts will go a long way in allowing San Francisco’s starting cast the necessary rest it’ll need in 2020.