49ers news: Bleacher Report predicts defense regresses in 2021

The 49ers made it on Bleacher Report’s list of overhyped teams in 2021, and a primary reason why is because of a predicted defensive regression.

It’s hard to not get excited about the San Francisco 49ers‘ upcoming 2021 campaign. And if anything, it has to be better than last year’s 6-10 finish amid a completely overwhelming amount of injuries, ultimately thwarting head coach Kyle Shanahan’s attempts to spark a “revenge tour” in the wake of the previous year’s Super Bowl loss.

The Niners did a good job of “keeping the band together” during the offseason, primarily re-signing a number of key free agents while making other roster improvements, such as onboarding EDGE Samson Ebukam and center Alex Mack.

This allowed San Francisco to focus its NFL Draft efforts primarily on long-term upgrades, including quarterback Trey Lance, who is expected to take over for the starter, Jimmy Garoppolo.

Just not right away.

All that said, Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton isn’t buying the idea the 49ers will live up to the hype. In fact, he listed the Niners as one of his five most overhyped squads entering 2021, along with the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.

A key component behind Moton’s argument is the quarterback question, namely whether or not Garoppolo can endure a full 17-game season. While that’s a good argument (San Francisco hasn’t been able to win consistently without Garoppolo being healthy), it’s awfully overplayed.

And it probably isn’t the biggest concern the 49ers have entering 2021 anyway.

B/R feels 49ers defense will regress with Robert Saleh’s departure

Another notably big question mark the Niners face in 2021 is how they’ll transition from their former defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, who left for the New York Jets’ head-coaching vacancy, to first-year coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

It’s something Moton pointed out in his assessment:

"San Francisco’s defense could take a step back after Robert Saleh left his defensive coordinator position to become the New York Jets head coach. DeMeco Ryans, who will take over play-calling duties, has been an assistant on staff since 2017, but he’s an unknown as a coordinator. …Without Saleh, San Francisco may need Garoppolo to shoulder more of an offensive load. If he’s injured or a subpar performer while healthy, which was the case last season, the 49ers will struggle to even reach the playoffs. This squad has too many variables at play to be considered a top-five Super Bowl favorite."

Ryans was an assistant under Saleh since 2017, so there is going to be some continuity with both the players and the presumed scheme. At the same time, though, one should expect Ryans will undergo his own growing pains and adjustments, not unlike what Saleh experienced in his first two years as a defensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018.

Saleh’s maturation ultimately led to the 49ers boasting the NFL’s 17th-best scoring defense in 2020 yet a top-10 defense in terms of yards allowed in spite of losing many of its key playmakers like safety Jaquiski Tartt, cornerback Richard Sherman and EDGEs Nick Bosa and Dee Ford for extensive periods. In short, Saleh figured out ways to adjust and keep the defense performing well despite being so shorthanded. It’s one of the reasons the Jets plucked him to be their head coach of the future.

It’s unclear just how much Ryans will have to experience as a first-year coordinator and whether or not he’ll have to engineer his own learning curve. The Niners defense is expected to be fully reinforced, namely with Bosa and Tartt back healthy. Yet Ryans will have to lean on some of his most crucial players this season, too, especially if he hopes to maintain a top-10 defense.

If not, San Francisco’s defense could possibly regress, thereby putting more pressure on Garoppolo and the offense to perform.

And that’s an awfully open-ended question, too.