No. 4: SF 49ers Defensive End Kerry Hyder Jr.
The SF 49ers defensive line suffered brutal injuries last week with Bosa and Solomon Thomas suffering torn ACLs and being out for the rest of the year. However, even though the Niners defensive line will not be as good as it was with those players, there still are bright spots in the unit.
One of them is defensive end Kerry Hyder Jr.
The 49ers signed Hyder in free agency this offseason. Hyder had a solid first two games of the season, sacking Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray in Week 1. In Week 2, Hyder played 80 percent of the SF 49ers’ defensive snaps, stepping up after Bosa’s first-quarter injury.
Hyder recorded three solo tackles in each of the first two games.
Now, with Bosa out, Hyder is likely to feature even more in the 49ers’ defense, especially this week as new acquisition Ezekiel Ansah will likely not be in a major role yet as he learns the Niners defense.
Add on top of all those factors fellow defensive end Dee Ford‘s absence due to injury, and all the factors are there for Hyder to have a huge workload in Week 3.
Based on his play so far this season, expect Hyder to shine when given this workload and hopefully become a key player on a depleted 49ers’ defensive line throughout the rest of this season.