49ers emphasize speed with D-line free agency moves

The 49ers have worked to bolster their defensive line this offseason with one apparent area of focus: speed.

The San Francisco 49ers have been busy this offseason, re-signing the bulk of their massive NFL free agency list heading into the spring, including left tackle Trent Williams, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and cornerbacks Jason Verrett and Emmanuel Moseley.

Outside of cornerback, a group that also includes the reported return of slot corner K’Waun Williams, the Niners have spent the most offseason resources adding bodies along the defensive line. Returning from last year are nose tackle D.J. Jones and EDGE rusher Jordan Willis, while nose tackle Zach Kerr and EDGE rusher Samson Ebukam were brought in via the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Niners restructured the contract of EDGE Dee Ford to open up some cap space, and while there is some indication that Ford is trying to play in 2021 despite last year’s serious back injury, there’s no real reason to expect anything from him for the upcoming season.

Other free agents along the defensive line who won’t be returning include defensive ends Kerry Hyder, who signed a massive deal with the Seattle Seahawks, and Ronald Blair, who has yet to fully recover from an ACL tear suffered late in 2019.

The players San Francisco brought in or retained, versus those allowed to walk or go to other teams, tell us something about what the defense, especially newly minted defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, might value along the defensive line.

Speed.

Take, for example, the choice to keep Willis around while letting Hyder, who led the 2020 team in sacks, to venture north to the Niners’ biggest rivals.

Sure, there’s an age factor to take into account (Willis will turn 26 years old, while Hyder turns 30 years old, both on May 2). But if there’s one thing a younger player has an advantage in, it’s his pace around the edge.

Willis was with the 49ers for just seven games last year but still managed to rack up 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hits in those games. Take his first sack as a Niner against the Green Bay Packers to see how quickly he gets off the ball:

If Willis can be productive with Hyder opposite him, it’s exciting to consider what he could do in a rotation with an elite guy like EDGE Nick Bosa on the other side.

Ebukam is also another speed rusher who will look to take advantage of the attention guys like Bosa or defensive tackles Arik Armstead or Javon Kinlaw will require of opposing offenses.

While Ebukam may get opportunities to hone his skills in San Francisco with defensive line coach Chris Kocurek, as noted by Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle on KNBR recently, Ebukam is a speed guy who doesn’t give up on plays, something the 49ers will need, especially if they can’t get anything from Ford this season.

Jones and Kerr are also examples of what speed can do but from the inside. Jones has amassed five career sacks while never playing more than 40 percent of the team’s snaps in four seasons.

For a big guy, he moves quite well. Just ask former Seahawks center Joey Hunt:

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1194066248016908290

Jones isn’t an elite athlete at his position — Mock Draftable noted he was in the 45th percentile in the 3-cone drill and 49th in the 20-yard shuttle — but he uses solid pass-rushing move to create space for sacks like the one above while being a hyper-effective run-stopping interior defender.

As for Kerr, who has been in the league since 2014 with stops in Indianapolis, Denver, Arizona, and Carolina, he’s racked up 9.5 sacks in 88 career games while never playing in more than 37 percent of his team’s snaps.

Kerr is a massive human (6-foot-2, 334 pounds) but manages to move quite quickly for his size and often takes up two blockers, freeing up others to make players even if he doesn’t always complete the sack or tackle himself as he does here.

As noted by our own Peter Panacy, Kerr should fit nicely into the defensive line rotation. With Bosa expected to return to full strength and Armstead and Kinlaw still manning the middle, all players like Willis, Ebukam, Jones, and Kerr will need to do is fill their spots and opportunities will come for them.

But the 49ers are counting on speed to be a killer for opposing offensive lines in 2021, a pretty clear strategy based on the players they’ve re-signed and brought in from other organizations so far this offseason.