How Clelin Ferrell and Keion White will change the 49ers' defense

These two aren't exactly edge rushers.

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The 49ers just bolstered their defensive line group, but not in the way you might have thought that they would.

The 49ers desperately need an edge rusher after losing Nick Bosa for the season with a torn ACL. So on Tuesday, one week before the trade deadline, they traded a sixth-round pick for Keion White and signed Clelin Ferrell, two players who technically are defensive ends. If they were to start for the 49ers, that's the position they would play on first and second down.

But on third down, when it's time to rush the quarterback, both Ferrell and White are interior rushers. Neither one makes an impact rushing from the edge. And the 49ers know this -- they had Ferrell in 2023, and they used him as an edge-setter on base downs and an interior rusher on third downs.

Let's examine how the 49ers will use Ferrell and White this season.

How the 49ers will use Clelin Ferrell

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Since Bosa went down, the 49ers' starting defensive ends have been Sam Okuayinonu and Mykel Williams. Each player has hit the opposing quarterback just twice in eight games. They're run-defenders.

Which brings us to Ferrell. The Raiders took him with the fourth pick in the 2019 Draft, so he was considered a bust. But in 2023, he signed a one-year deal with the 49ers, started all 17 regular-season games, and recorded 3.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits, mostly rushing from the defensive tackle position on third downs. He was a solid contributor.

The 49ers probably will use him similarly this season to how they used him in 2023. Which is odd, considering Bryce Huff is out for at least another week with a hamstring injury and Bosa is out for the season. You'd think they'd be in the market for edge rushers.

But Huff presumably will come back soon, and the 49ers also desperately need interior rushers, because none of the three defensive tackles the 49ers drafted this year are effective pass rushers at this point in their careers. Don't be surprised if Ferrell cuts into Mykel Williams' playing time.

How the 49ers will use Keion White

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The Patriots drafted White in the second round of the 2023 Draft, and in 2024, he had a bit of a breakout season, recording 5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits as a base defensive end who moves to defensive tackle on third downs, similar to Ferrell and Williams.

In 2025, the Patriots' new coaching staff changed their defensive scheme and decided that White no longer fit what they wanted to do, so they essentially gave him away to the 49ers. Now, the 49ers can play White and Ferrell next to each other in the interior on passing downs until Yetur Gross-Matos comes back -- he's another tweener who starts outside and rushes mostly from the inside.

Perhaps the additions of White and Ferrell signal that Gross-Matos isn't returning any time soon. He hasn't been 100 percent healthy since he signed with the 49ers last year.

Or, maybe their additions signal that the 49ers privately are concerned about their first-round pick, Mykel Williams, whom they compared to DeForest Buckner when they drafted him. Buckner had 18 quarterbacks hits as a rookie. Williams currently has two. If the 49ers want to improve their pass rush, they might need to take him off the field more often.