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PFF: The 49ers Need Immediate Help on the Defensive Line

They might need more than the 11 draft picks they currently own.
Grant Cohn|
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Pro Football Focus just broke down the state of all 32 NFL franchises, and the state of the 49ers isn't so strong right now.

While the Rams have no immediate needs heading into the NFL Draft according to PFF, the 49ers have pressing needs on the defensive line in particular.

"The 49ers recently boasted one of the most complete rosters in the NFL, but as this offseason has indicated, that is now far from true," writes PFF analyst Bradley Locker.

"The team’s biggest deficiency is along the defensive line, which lost Leonard Floyd and Javon Hargrave — and which finished 2024 ranking 22nd in PFF overall grade, even with Nick Bosa’s heroics. San Francisco is incredibly thin at both edge rusher and interior defender and figures to target one of the two at Pick No. 11 in the 2025 NFL Draft."

The 49ers also lost starting defensive tackle Maliek Collins, which means they could draft three plug-and-play defensive linemen in a couple weeks.

"With the loss of Aaron Banks in free agency, the 49ers also don’t have a clear-cut starter at left guard," continues Locker, "although Ben Bartch produced a 74.8 PFF overall grade on 65 snaps there last season. Dre Greenlaw is now in Denver, so the team also needs reinforcement at inside linebacker next to Fred Warner.

"The good news is that Trent Williams staved off retirement for one more year, although he played his fewest snaps since 2017 — and may be in for a swan song. At cornerback, the Niners are in solid standing with Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green, but no other cornerback on the roster played even 300 snaps last year.

In addition, the 49ers need a safety to replace Talanoa Hufanga and a running back to replace Jordan Mason.

They might need more than the 11 draft picks they currently own.

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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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