Last season, the San Francisco 49ers were felled largely by injuries, but that does not mean the team was flawless even if it had been fully healthy.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan seems to recognize that, and his recent comments about San Francisco's defense from last season reveal he thinks they got fairly lucky.
Shanahan appeared on Tom Tolbert’s podcast and said the following about the defense:
“I think we need to be better on defense all-around in terms of, we got fortunate last year, we didn’t play a ton of quarterbacks, so I think that helped us not get as exposed.”
It’s true. The 49ers had a soft schedule last season, and that certainly helped cover up some of their more glaring defensive holes. Going up against the likes of Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward can make any defense look halfway decent.
Of course, Shanahan went on to note all of the injuries the Niners suffered on that side of the ball, most notably linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa. He also made sure to credit former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for doing a great job to get the most out of that unit, given the limited resources he had at his disposal.
Still, Shanahan knows San Francisco needs to improve on that side of the ball. The question is whether the team made enough meaningful additions to ensure that unit will be more effective.
The Niners brought back linebacker Dre Greenlaw, which was a move many fans loved because of just how good Greenlaw was at his best in San Francisco. But given his injury history, it’s fair to question how much of an impact he is going to have.
Trading for Osa Odighizuwa was a key move to bolster the interior defensive line, and that could end up being the 49ers' most impactful offseason addition.
The Niners did also add some players in last month’s NFL Draft, but it remains to be seen whether any of those guys—Romello Height, Jaden Dugger, or Ephesians Prysock—will be contributors as rookies.
Edge rusher is still a question as it seemingly always is. The safety group is also going to face scrutiny until they prove otherwise. Renardo Green is still viewed by many as the weak link at cornerback.
Maybe new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris can get a lot out of this group, but it’s fair to have questions about how the defense will hold up, especially against some tougher opponents this season.
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