The San Francisco 49ers' 2025 season has continued to teeter from promising to disappointing, and their loss to the Los Angeles Rams only furthered to show that, given all their injuries, their defense is no longer the elite unit it looked to be to start the season.
That loss, pushing them to 6-4, may have also finally shown what the Niners' true ceiling will be this season: a fringe playoff team.
If that is true, San Francisco's focus should begin to shift from just this year to the next year as well. Just with the 49ers choosing not to mortgage future seasons by making a hasty trade at the deadline, they also need to choose to invest in that future by playing their younger players.
Choosing to play their rookies might result in worse performances, which would tank the Niners' playoff chances. Threading the needle between competing this year and building for the next is a difficult one, but there is a position where playing rookies may not cost San Francisco all that much: defensive tackle.
49ers must rely on rookie DTs for rest of the season
The 49ers defensive line has been hard-hit with injuries, but those injuries have mostly impacted the edge positions.
The defensive tackle position, on the other hand, has been relatively unscathed. The Niners drafted the position heavy, with both Alfred Collins and C.J. West, as well as Sebastian Valdez as an undrafted free agent. The plan was for these players to start rotating in and taking up more snaps as the season progressed.
Now that the season has progressed to be on the fringe, the 49ers need to go all-in on that appraoch, giving their rookie defensive tackles the brunt of the snaps.
It might result in a few big plays the other way on the ground and a potential drop in the pass rush, but given the way the defense has progressed, that might not change much. Moreover, the Niners need to accept those growing pains if they want their players to be best equipped for next season.
Collins has already made a big play for San Francisco this season. The only way for him and the other rookies to continue developing their skills to make those big plays is by getting these snaps now.