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PFF Says the 49ers Should Sign Lions DT Levi Onwuzurike

Onwuzurike turned 27 on March 2. He has started 10 games in three career seasons and has recorded 3.5 sacks. So he shouldn't be expensive.
Grant Cohn|
Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) rushes the quarterback as Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker (63) blocks on Sunday, November 3, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Lions won the game, 24-14. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) rushes the quarterback as Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker (63) blocks on Sunday, November 3, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Lions won the game, 24-14. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers desperately need defensive tackles.

They're going to release Javon Hargrave with a post-June-1 designation when free agency begins next week, which means their best defensive tackle currently is Maliek Collins who isn't good. Plus he'll turn 30 in April.

That's a big reason Pro Football Focus says the 49ers should sign Lions defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike.

"In the wake of their injury-tarnished season, the 49ers are in the process of sorting out which pending defensive free agents to bring back," writes PFF analyst Bradley Locker. "Addressing the defensive line should be on John Lynch’s docket, and Onwuzurike is a name to keep in mind.

"In his first season of regular run with the Lions, Onwuzurike turned heads in 2024, producing 47 pressures to go along with a 66.5 PFF run-defense grade. Last year, that run-defense mark would’ve been better than any other 49ers defensive lineman other than Nick Bosa.

"Also, with Robert Saleh back as defensive coordinator, Onwuzurike would jell in his 4-3 scheme. Since 2023, the 27-year-old ranks 13th among 36 qualified defensive linemen in PFF overall grade on 4-3 snaps (71.4).

"Onwuzurike might sign for more than anticipated, but if the 49ers have room for him, he could help offset the loss of Javon Hargrave and assist the struggling Maliek Collins."

Onwuzurike turned 27 on March 2. He has started 10 games in three career seasons and has recorded 3.5 sacks. So he shouldn't be expensive.

And while he was a good run defender in the Lions' 4-3 defense, the 49ers' 4-3 defense because it features a Wide 9 alignment. It's unclear if he could withstand the constant barrage of double teams he would face on the 49ers.

Still, he'd be worth signing on the cheap.

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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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