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The biggest weakness on the 49ers' roster heading into training camp

The 49ers' roster is in a state of transition.
Grant Cohn|
Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers' roster is in a state of transition.

They lost nine starters this offseason and attempted to replace many of them with rookies. Not all of those rookies will pan out or be ready to start right away, which means some journeymen and career backups could become critical players for the 49ers this season.

So, for the first time in a few years, the 49ers enter training camp with some major weaknesses on their roster. And their biggest weakness according to ESPN is defensive tackle.

"I was tempted to go with the secondary, but the 49ers' DT situation might be the worst in the league. Maliek Collins and Javon Hargrave signed elsewhere, and the team's only impact additions were draft picks Alfred Collins (second round) and CJ West (fourth)," writes ESPN's Mike Clay.

"Jordan Elliott (a rotational player) tops the depth chart, and competitors Kevin Givens, Evan Anderson and Kalia Davis all played less than 30% of the team's defensive snaps last season. The Niners figure to add more help and/or move Yetur Gross-Matos and Sam Okuayinonu inside more often."

They also will move first-round pick Mykel Williams inside on passing downs and use Bryce Huff as an edge rusher opposite Nick Bosa.

Which means the 49ers will use platoons at defensive tackle. Collins and West, the two rookies, are expected to start and play on first and second down. But on third down, when it's time to rush the quarterback, both players likely will come off the field and be replaced by Gross-Matos and Huff. So this position isn't as bad as it seems.

The weakest position group on the team might be the offensive line, considering it's the worst O-line in the league when Trent Williams doesn't play, and he misses multiple games every year. And his backup, Andre Dillard, is currently on the PUP List.

The 49ers have some holes to fill.

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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.

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