49ers news: 4 offseason moves that aren’t getting talked about

No. 1: 49ers bolstering pass rush with Kemoko Turay

Many a fan could have been happy with the Niners welcoming back their 2020 sack leader, defensive end Kerry Hyder, after his one-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks. After losing defensive end Arden Key in free agency after his 6.5 sacks a year ago, San Francisco needed to find a complementary pass-rushing option to pair with Pro Bowl EDGE Nick Bosa.

However, there’s an awfully good chance former Colts EDGE Kemoko Turay winds up being a bigger contributor to the 49ers defense in 2022.

Granted, Turay dealt with a lot of injuries in 2019 and 2020 before finally having a quality year in 2021, picking up 5.5 sacks over 13 games in a situational role.

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Turning 27 years old this offseason and looking to stay healthy for the entire year, Turay will likely see his role unchanged, subbing in on a rotational basis on third downs and obvious pass-rushing situations.

That’ll likely provide the Niners with a definite boost, adding some thump to a unit that failed to produce much by the way of depth sacks behind Bosa’s team-high 15.5 mark from a year ago.

Plus, considering how defensive line coach Kris Kocurek seems to turn castoff players like Hyder and Key into desirable players the following year, San Francisco might be looking at Turay as Kocurek’s next project.