5 toughest defensive players 49ers will face in 2022
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers can be happy to avoid some of the NFL’s best defensive players in 2022, but they still have to run the gauntlet against these five standouts.
The last two times the San Francisco 49ers were eliminated in the postseason, two notable defensive players made huge plays that thwarted the Niners’ late offensive heroics.
In Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs, it was defensive tackle Chris Jones who blew up plays and swatted down passes from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Last season, in the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, Garoppolo felt the heat from perennial All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
Fortunately, the Niners don’t have to face off against the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt, on their 2022 NFL schedule. And there are plenty of other defensive standouts around the league who won’t find themselves scheduled to play San Francisco during the regular season.
Good news there.
However, the 49ers still have to square off against these five extremely tough defensive players who’ll impede the Niners’ efforts to get back into the postseason.
Including one player whom San Francisco squared off against three times last season and is scheduled to face twice in 2022.
49ers tough opponent No. 1: DT Aaron Donald, Rams
The 49ers’ ideal scenario would be for LA to trade Donald all the way across the country to the AFC East. But with Los Angeles inking Donald for the long run, the Niners again find themselves locked in a high-profile matchup against a player who’s regularly in the running for Defensive Player of the Year every season.
The seven-time first-team All-Pro might not always be his dominant self against San Francisco (and it’s anyone’s guess as to why), yet that NFC Championship game proved Donald’s prowess in the biggest of moments.
Plus, it’s never good having to face off against the No. 2-ranked player on the NFL 100 list entering 2022.
What makes this even more critical from the 49ers’ vantage point is because their offensive line, namely the interior, is shaky enough after losing two Pro Bowlers, Laken Tomlinson and Alex Mack, respectively, to free agency and retirement. Tack on the fact the Niners face off against Donald and the Rams twice in the NFC West divisional series, Weeks 4 and 8, and the pain from that experience is going to be tough to absorb.