49ers training camp: 5 position battles that demand you watch
By Peter Panacy
49ers training camp battle No. 3: Defensive line
From a starter’s vantage point, the only real question the 49ers have to answer with regards to their defensive line in training camp is who winds up being the base-down defensive end opposite EDGE Nick Bosa to start the season.
Ideally, the Niners would like it to be their second-round pick from this year’s draft, Drake Jackson, yet Jackson’s run-stopping liabilities probably prevent him from being an every-down player.
Over the last two years, San Francisco has used castoff players to supplement the pass rush, Kerry Hyder in 2020 with 8.5 sacks and now-Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arden Key in 2021.
Who winds up having a Hyder or Key-like 2022 campaign?
It could be another castoff free-agent pickup from this offseason, EDGE Kemoko Turay, or perhaps it’s defensive end Charles Omenihu, whom the 49ers picked up in a midseason trade from the Houston Texans a year ago.
And will EDGE Samson Ebukam finally break his 4.5-sack ceiling he’s hit the last three years? If he’s able to pick up where he left off late last season, perhaps.
The Niners’ interior is a little less flashy, of course, but fans will want to see if third-year defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw can finally live up to his first-round draft status after missing all but four games with a knee injury a year ago.