San Francisco 49ers: Top 5 players nobody talks about
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: 49ers EDGE Kerry Hyder
San Francisco wasn’t overly active on the free-agent market this offseason, and the moves general manager John Lynch made here were largely supplementary in nature.
One of those moves was to pick up former Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher Kerry Hyder, who also spent 2015 through 2018 with the Detroit Lions.
Hyder’s defensive line coach there? Now-49ers D-line coach Kris Kocurek.
Hyder enjoyed his best season as a pro working with Kocurek back in 2016 when the former recorded a career-high eight sacks, 19 quarterback hits, 36 tackles with 11 of them going for a loss. The Niners aren’t necessarily looking at Hyder replicating those numbers this season, given he’s going to be no more than a situational pass-rusher if he even makes the roster.
But pass-rushing depth is extremely important. And with fellow defensive end Ronald Blair still rehabbing a torn ACL suffered late last season, Hyder’s role could be just as important in 2020 than anyone else behind the presumed starting cast of edge rushers.