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PFF Ranks 49ers Run Defense Among NFL's Most Improved Units

It should be extremely difficult to run on the 49ers defense next season.

Grant Cohn

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alfred Collins (95) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alfred Collins (95) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The 49ers were widely criticized for not addressing their offensive line before Round 7 in the NFL Draft this year.

Instead, the 49ers chose to focus on their run defense. And in doing so, they transformed it from a weakness to a strength. Now, Pro Football Focus ranks the 49ers' run defense as one of the most improved units in the NFL.

"While the 49ers may not have been widely praised following their draft, they entered with a clear goal: to address a deficiency in quality run defenders, and they attacked it," writes PFF analyst Mason Cameron. "Of San Francisco’s six defensive picks, five earned PFF run-defense grades above 80.0 in 2024.

"After the 49ers defensive line ranked 26th in PFF run-defense grade (46.9), Robert Saleh knew the unit needed an overhaul. The team selected Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, and CJ West to beef up the trenches. Williams and Collins bring the length and versatility to make this front a problem to game-plan against, while West adds mass and energy to disrupt the A-gaps.

"Despite some concerns in coverage, the 49ers get a pair of physical nickel defenders in Upton Stout and Marques Sigle, each of whom posted a run-defense grade above 85.0 this past season."

The one defensive player the 49ers drafted who didn't post a run-defense grade above 85.0 was linebacker Martin whom the 49ers picked in Round 3. That's because Martin missed 15.5 percent of his tackle opportunities. But he's fast and explosive, and playing behind Alfred Collins and CJ West should help him.

It should be extremely difficult to run on the 49ers defense next season.

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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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