Kris Kocurek could be about to pen his 49ers masterpiece
Kris Kocurek's reputation as a defensive line coach with a proclivity for getting the most out of pass rushers who have struggled for production elsewhere is well deserved. Kerry Hyder Jr, Arden Key and Charles Omenihu have all in the last three seasons posted career-high sack totals while under the tutelage of the 49ers' renowned […]
Kris Kocurek's reputation as a defensive line coach with a proclivity for getting the most out of pass rushers who have struggled for production elsewhere is well deserved.
Kerry Hyder Jr, Arden Key and Charles Omenihu have all in the last three seasons posted career-high sack totals while under the tutelage of the 49ers' renowned defensive line coach. Hyder had 8.5 in 2020, Key recorded 6.5 in 2021 and Omenihu had 4.5 last year.
But the 2023 campaign has the potential be Kocurek's masterpiece, one in which he could revitalize the careers of three pass rushers who have each failed to live up to pre-draft hype. Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant and, more recently, Taco Charlton all joined a defensive line already stuffed with high draft picks, and all have already shown signs of benefiting from entering the Kocurek rehabilitation program.
Ferrell was the fourth overall pick of the Raiders in the 2019 draft but has only recorded 10 sacks as a pro after starring at Clemson, his best season coming back in his rookie year when he had 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss.
But, having put his disappointing time in Oakland and Las Vegas behind him, Ferrell is now pushing Drake Jackson for the starting defensive end position across from Nick Bosa that was expected to go to the 2022 second-round pick.
Ferrell did his chances of winning that job no harm in Monday's practice, consistently creating pressure and achieving the rare feat of beating All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams for a tackle for loss on Christian McCaffrey.
Few would have foreseen Ferrell being able to have success against the game's best tackle during his time as a Raider, and he credits his quick progress under Kocurek to his position coach allowing him play with freedom he was not afforded at his previous stop.
"Having coach Kris has been really big for me. Just from the aspect of me taking a lot of the reading out of my game. I’m more back there just, just reacting. We’re like a pack of animals out there. We’re really just playing off of instinct. And that’s been the biggest thing. Regardless of where you came from into the league, regardless of what a scout, what a front office thought about you, he’s a guy where whatever ceiling you set for yourself, coach Kris is somebody who takes the ceiling off and tells you, 'Don’t let anybody put a ceiling on you'. His ability to give players confidence is really, really big."
That is an assessment of his position coach that Bryant shares.
Ferrell's former Clemson teammate has missed much of camp with a hamstring injury, but has starred in recent practices. He was credited with three sacks on Monday and was similarly impressive on Tuesday as a series of injuries, along with Bosa's holdout, limited San Francisco's depth at defensive end.
Bryant possesses a host of intriguing traits as an edge rusher. He's long, with arms that measured in the 86th percentile for edge rushers four years ago, and his length is complemented by explosiveness that allows him to produce an impressive bull rush, an arsenal of moves that includes the chop and the rip, and the flexibility to bend around the edge.
Yet injuries prevented the Lions from harnessing his obvious upside as a pass rusher, though Bryant believes a switch from often having to play coverage at outside linebacker for Detroit to being able to pin his ears back at defensive end with the Niners has had a hugely positive impact.
"I got drafted into a system where I was an outside linebacker, so a lot more playing at the line, setting the edge, dropping, sometimes I’m in man coverage, but my full duty job wasn’t to go straight [forwards], sometimes I had to backwards, which if you look at me I’m not really built to go backwards, I’m built to go that way [pointing straight ahead]. This system allows you to do that, allows you to play in space, allows you to use God-given abilities that not many people have every single snap. I’m blessed that I’m in a system that allows me to be who I truly am."
Likely set to operate as a designated pass rusher in a Wide 9 technique that will allow him a runway to build up speed and generate explosiveness, Bryant's excitement at the scheme change he is experiencing is understandable.
He is widely anticipated to land on the 53 along with Ferrell. Charlton has a much more difficult task on his hands having only signed for the 49ers eight days ago. However, in part because of injuries to other defensive linemen, Charlton has already earned first-team reps.
That rapid ascension is not just due to a lack of other available bodies. The former first-round pick of the Cowboys has used his length and ability to win inside and out to catch the eye during his first week of practice with the Niners.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks recently said of Charlton:
"Taco came off the plane and he just like made play after play after play the other day. And I was very impressed with that because, number one, we needed the reps, but he got in and made it seem like he had been here for a week. So, he’s still learning the defense, it still is going to take him some time, but when he’s in there he goes full speed, which I love."
Being a Kocurek defensive lineman is all about going full speed. Though it may be too early to credit Charlton's performances in practice to Kocurek, it's easy to envision theirs being a working relationship that delivers significant returns.
It's still up in the air whether Charlton will even make the 53, but there's at least a chance the Kocurek rehabilitation program will see him turn Ferrell into a starter, get production out of Bryant on true passing downs and harness value from Charlton as a rotational lineman who can play on the interior and the edge.
Bosa will eventually end his holdout and return to the fold, while the 49ers have a formidable interior duo in Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead. Kocurek, therefore, does not need to turn around all three of these fallen stars for San Francisco's defensive line to continue to thrive, but any lingering doubts about the depth on the front will be extinguished if he puts together what would be his Magnum opus with a trio of transformations.
Javon Hargrave is showing why the 49ers backed up the Brinks truck
The defensive tackle has been as advertised.
Featured Image Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
