There’s a lot of curiosity the San Francisco 49ers’ 2019 season brings. What is that offense going to look like with Jerick McKinnon and Tevin Coleman? How does Jimmy Garoppolo look with those shiny new wide receivers? And what is that pass rush going to be like?
The pass rush got the biggest shot in the arm. DeForest Buckner is already a stud and needs no introduction but he needed help. The 49ers traded for Dee Ford and drafted Nick Bosa. Then there’s Solomon Thomas who needs to find some consistency.
The folks over at Pro Football Focus released their rankings of pass rushers going into the 2019 NFL season and the 49ers made quite the jump. Last year around this time, the 49ers were ranked 19th. This year, they go into 2019 ranked eighth.
This is the biggest mover from a season ago. DeForest Buckner led the team with a measly 73.0 pass-rushing grade last season. Nick Bosa and Dee Ford will be changing that in 2019. Ford’s league-leading 78 pressures doubled the 49ers’ top edge defender last season.
Two things to bring up. First, Solomon Thomas should silence the naysayers and turn in a decent season now that his head is straight. Second, Nick Bosa needs to play 16 games without an injury. There’s no guarantee on both, but if that happens, AND they produce, the 49ers can make another jump in 2020. See that No. 1 ranked Philadelphia Eagles pass rush? Well if all goes well, we might be talking about the best defensive line in football.
Given that they haven’t had much time to gel, don’t expect the 49ers to come up in Week 3 and begin their dominance, these things take time. Don’t expect consistency either. If this group can get it together in 2019, 2020 could be a huge year for the defensive line.
Just. Stay. Healthy.