The San Francisco 49ers spent considerable effort upgrading their defensive front during the offseason, namely by bringing in former Kansas City Chiefs EDGE Dee Ford via a trade, then using the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on Ohio State EDGE Nick Bosa, widely viewed as the top overall prospect coming out in the draft.
These efforts appeared to have caught the attention of the folks over at Pro Football Focus, who just ranked out all 32 teams' pass rushes heading into the upcoming 2019 campaign.
PFF ranked the Niners eighth overall, citing the additions of both Ford and Bosa as key reasons why fans should be excited about San Francisco's pass rush in 2019:
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.
While Buckner might have been tagged with a "measly 73.0" pass-rush grade, one can't ignore the fact he notched a career-high 12 sacks on the season. But Buckner didn't exactly have a lot of help around him in this department. Defensive linemen Cassius Marsh and Ronald Blair were tied on the 49ers defense with 5.5 sacks apiece, and the Niners managed a mere 37 sacks total over the course of 2018 -- tied for 22nd a year ago.
Marsh is no longer with the team, and Blair is arguably on the roster bubble heading into training camp, made so by additions like those of Ford and Bosa.
Buckner figures to have an even more prolific 2019 campaign, however, with opposing blockers no longer allowed to solely focus on his pass-rushing efforts. Ford will likely occupy the weak-side pass-rushing spot, with Bosa lining up on the strong side of the formation. Simply double teaming Buckner will no longer be effective for the opposition.
PFF ranked the Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the 49ers in descending order.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
