This is the second of a three-part evaluation of the San Francisco 49ers season so far. Last time, we covered the offense. Now, it’s time to cover the defense. It’s been a mixed bag for San Francisco defensively through eight games. Despite being in the top half of most defensive statistics, the San Francisco 49ers have undoubtedly regressed from their dominant defenses of years past.
That doesn’t make their defense bad, far from it. They’re still probably one of the 10-12 best defenses in football. It’s just a falloff from when they were a top three defense in football for years under Steve Wilks, DeMeco Ryans, and Robert Saleh. If the San Francisco 49ers want to get back to the Super Bowl and win it, they need to address their defensive shortcomings.
The Defensive Line
The defensive line has probably been San Francisco’s strongest defensive unit and even they’ve regressed. A big reason for this, much like the offense, is due to an injury, namely to Javon Hargrave. Losing him three games into the season has hurt the San Francisco 49ers pass rush. Through eight games, they’ve generated just 20 sacks, which puts them on pace to finish with 42.5 sacks this season, lower than both 2022 and 2023.
The interior defensive line play has merely been average instead of great for the 49ers in 2024. Maliek Collins has been fine but not exceptional. Keith Givens and Sam Okuayinonu are nice for rotation pieces, and Jordan Elliott has been a complete non-factor. The good news is that both of their edge rushers have played well. Leonard Floyd has settled in nicely as the edge opposite of Nick Bosa.
Speaking of which, while Bosa’s numbers may not be at his 2022 DPOY level, he is still playing at an elite level on film. Getting to the QB with speed and power while being great against the run. The other positive news for the San Francisco 49ers is that their run defense has been pretty good so far. They rank in the top ten in both rushing yards allowed per game and yards per carry allowed. Part of that comes with an asterisk given that they’ve played some terrible rushing offenses like the Jets, Cowboys, and Seahawks, while getting gashed against good rushing offenses like Kansas City and Arizona.
The Linebackers
The linebacker position for the San Francisco 49ers presents their greatest strength and biggest weakness. Fred Warner has been playing at an unbelievably high level this season, even more so than usual. With the defensive line not generating as much pressure as they were in years past, Warner has been asked to do more than ever in pass and run coverage, and he’s been excellent on all fronts. He’s been sensational, to the point where if he doesn’t get any DPOY votes, it’d be a crime.
However, outside of Fred Warner, the San Francisco 49ers have largely struggled with their linebacking corp. As you could probably guess, it’s due to an injury, this time with Dre Greenlaw. Greenlaw tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl and has been hoping to get back on the field at some point in 2024. If this season has shown us anything, it’s that the San Francisco 49ers need him back in the worst way possible. De’Vondre Campbell was brought in to fill in Greenlaw’s shoes, and unfortunately, he’s done anything but.
Campbell has been widely regarded as one of the worst starting linebackers in the NFL so far this season, specifically for him being a liability in pass coverage. Campbell is still a wily veteran who can play the run game decently, but his deficiencies in coverage have held this Niner defense back. The other linebacker who has gotten significant reps in Greenlaw’s absence is Dee Winters. He has shown some splash play potential, but he hasn’t been consistent enough in both the run and pass game to be a full-time starter right now.
The Secondary
San Francisco’s defensive philosophy of rushing four guys and playing soft zone has been their bread and butter since Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach in 2018. It’s a philosophy that has mostly worked. The Niners have been able to get enough pressure with four to make life tough for receivers on the backend. For this season, while there is certainly applicable criticism of the San Francisco 49ers stubbornness in rarely deviating from their identity, the secondary so far this season has been admirable.
Charvarius Ward is still one of the league’s best cover corners as teams are completing just 55.9% of their passes when throwing to him. He’s not a player who will usually travel with an opposing team’s number one receiver like Patrick Surtain II or Jaylon Johnson, but he does his job well. Deommodore Lenoir is having arguably the best season of his career so far, as teams have a passer rating of just 63.3 when targeting him. The San Francisco 49ers have also gotten decent play from their two slot corners Renardo Green and Isaac Yiadom.
San Fran’s safeties have also been solid, even despite another injury to pro bowler Talanoa Hufanga. Ji’Ayir Brown has filled the shoes of Tashaun Gipson very nicely so far this season, who they just signed back to their practice squad. He’s showcased some impact in the run game, with three tackles for loss so far this season. Lastly, the San Francisco 49ers might have found a future pro bowler in rookie Malik Mustapha. He has delivered some bone-crushing hits and timely plays in coverage. He’s looked really encouraging through his first eight games as a pro.
Final Thoughts
This San Francisco 49ers defense has been far from bad but has also been far from their lofty standards in years past. They need to be able to break from their tendencies more often and trust their guys in the secondary to make plays in man coverage. They also need to address the linebacker position outside of Fred Warner in some way if Greenlaw remains sidelined.
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