All 49ers

Are the 49ers Looking to Draft the Next Dee Ford in Round 1?

We already should know what kind of defensive end the 49ers want to pair with Nick Bosa.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 19, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford (55) walks off the field after win against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Sep 19, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford (55) walks off the field after win against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

In this story:

San Francisco 49ers

We already should know what kind of defensive end the 49ers want to pair with Nick Bosa.

Six years ago, just before the 49ers drafted Bosa with the second pick in the 2019 draft, they traded a second-rounder to the Kansas City Chiefs for Dee Ford and then gave him a five-year, $87.5 million extension. The 49ers really really liked him.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, Ford was injured virtually the entire time he was on the team -- he appeared in merely 18 games in three seasons before retiring. But when he was on the field, the 49ers had the best pass rush in the NFL, and his role was extremely important.

In his prime, Ford had the quickest first step of any edge rusher in the NFL. So the 49ers aligned him outside the opponent's tight end and gave him a straight line to rush the quarterback.

Ford usually was the first defensive lineman in the backfield for the 49ers. Even if he didn't sack the quarterback, Ford made him move in the pocket and hold the ball a beat longer than he'd like to which gave Nick Bosa enough time to sack him. That's the 49ers' formula for pass-rush success.

Expect them to replicate that formula this offseason. Saleh is back as the defensive coordinator and the 49ers need to revamp their defensive line. If they traded a second-round pick for an older Dee Ford once upon a time, why wouldn't they spend a first-round pick on a young version of Dee Ford now?

Expect the 49ers to draft either Mike Green, James Pearce Jr. or Jalon Walker with the 11th pick. All three are speed rushers who could fill the Dee Ford role in Saleh's defense.

Read more

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News