49ers will hope unofficial depth chart is off base for Week 1
Unofficial depth charts are titled as such because they are not compiled by the coaching staff. However, it's tough to poke many holes in the one the 49ers published on Tuesday. There is one area, though, where the 49ers will hope it does not prove accurate for the Week 1 clash with the Steelers. With […]
Unofficial depth charts are titled as such because they are not compiled by the coaching staff. However, it's tough to poke many holes in the one the 49ers published on Tuesday.
There is one area, though, where the 49ers will hope it does not prove accurate for the Week 1 clash with the Steelers.
With Nick Bosa's holdout showing no sign of coming to an end, the 49ers listed second-year edge Drake Jackson and free agent signing Clelin Ferrell as the starting defensive ends. Bosa remains at the bottom of the page with a reserve/did not report designation.
The 49ers have high hopes for former second-round pick Jackson despite him fading down the stretch last season and missing much of preseason with a hamstring injury.
Additionally, they are likely to be very happy with what they have seen from Ferrell, a fourth overall pick of the Raiders in 2019. Ferrell made splash plays throughout the exhibition season, shining against his former team and then subsequently in a win over the Broncos.
Yet the Niners don't want them starting across from each other. They want Jackson and Ferrell operating in a rotation at the defensive end spot across from Bosa.
As the season opener in Pittsburgh edges ever closer, the time in which they have to agree a contract extension that will get the reigning Defensive Player of the Year on the field in Week 1 continues to ebb away.
While the 49ers may have a lot of belief in Jackson and Ferrell, them producing pressure that can help San Francisco prevail in a regular-season game is no sure thing. Bosa gives them that guarantee of potentially telling production, and the onus is on the Niners' front office to get a deal done imminently so the unofficial depth chart isn't markedly accurate come Sunday.
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There’s reason for both optimism and concern.
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