The most important defensive players for the 49ers in the 2024 season, not including their captains
The San Francisco 49ers are hoping their defense will rebound after a slight step back in 2024. For context, that slight step back consisted of going from first in DVOA in 2022 under coordinator DeMeco Ryans, to fourth under Steve Wilks, who was fired after the 2023 campaign. That illustrates just has how the 49ers […]
The San Francisco 49ers are hoping their defense will rebound after a slight step back in 2024.
For context, that slight step back consisted of going from first in DVOA in 2022 under coordinator DeMeco Ryans, to fourth under Steve Wilks, who was fired after the 2023 campaign.
That illustrates just has how the 49ers set their standards in every area, and the leaders on the defensive side of the ball were clear in articulating that they fell short of those standards last season.
Defensive captains Nick Bosa and All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner will naturally be key to the 49ers returning to the levels they deem acceptable, but there are three less obvious players who stand out as the most important to San Francisco's fortunes on defense in 2024.
DT Maliek Collins
There is arguably an outsized amount of pressure on the shoulders of a player acquired in exchange for a seventh-round pick this offseason, but much of the 49ers' hopes of success on defense in 2024 rest on Collins proving himself to be a bargain.
Collins has a substantial hole to fill on the interior of the defensive line in taking the starting spot vacated by Arik Armstead, whose absence down the stretch through injury last season sparked a drop-off in run defense that never truly corrected itself even after his return.
Between Weeks 1 and 13 last season, the 49ers allowed the fewest rush yards per game in the NFL (79). Over the final five weeks of the regular season, when Armstead was on the sideline with foot and knee issues, that average ballooned to 115.4
Collins endured something of a drop-off in that aspect of his game in 2023 but is only two seasons removed from finishing tied-third in run stops (21), per Pro Football Focus, for the Houston Texans. On top of that, he demonstrated some promising flashes in limited action against the run in preseason, most notably on the first play of the game against the Las Vegas Raiders, when he shed two offensive linemen to make the tackle.
The 49ers simply cannot afford for their run defense to be the liability it was down the stretch last season. San Francisco has reliable backups in Jordan Elliott and Kevin Givens at defensive tackle, but an overall lack of depth up front means the onus on the D-Line is on the starters.
As such Collins needs to turn those run defense flashes into tangible results when it matters in the regular season and back up pressure numbers that indicate he will be a pass-rush upgrade on Armstead to form a formidable partnership on Javon Hargrave, who will be looking to improve on a 2023 that fell short of his high standards.
The 49er defense isn't quite as reliant on the front as in years past, but there should still be a lot of attention on the performance of Collins in his debut season with the team.
CB Deommodore Lenoir
There's no emphasis on Lenoir to do anything different in 2024. The message is a simple one: keep doing what you're doing.
What Lenoir has been doing, however, is anything but simple.
Lenoir has blossomed into one of the most important players on the entire 49er roster. That may sound like hyperbole, but it's reflective of the dual role he now occupies, in which Lenoir starts as an outside corner on base downs but bumps inside to play the slot on nickel downs.
With the 49ers playing nickel on 79.5 percent of their defensive snaps last season, Lenoir can look forward to spend the vast majority of his time in the slot in 2024.
While Lenoir impressed in that role last season, there is still room for improvement. His positive play rate allowed from the slot of 45.4% was 18th among the 44 corners with at least 20 targets when lined up at nickel, per Sports Info Solutions. However, he was a more disappointing 24th by Expected Points Added per target (0.11).
But just as important to his play in coverage in the slot as his ability to fit the run from that position, and Lenoir's aggressive play style lends itself to that task superbly.
Among the 83 corners with at least 200 run defense snaps, Lenoir was 17th by Pro Football Focus grade, tied 16th in stop rate (2.4%) and tied 11th in tackles (17).
The 49ers, having relied on Ambry Thomas to play outside corner on nickel downs during the stretch run last season, have turned to a more reliable solution in the form of veteran Isaac Yiadom.
But the plan of having Yiadom occupy that role relies on Lenoir continuing to make strides in the slot. Should he struggle, then Lenoir could be moved to outside corner full-time, potentially forcing the 49ers to throw rookie Renardo Green into the fire at slot corner.
The Niners have a lot of faith in the second-round pick, but they would doubtless right now feel more comfortable going with the experience of Lenoir, Charvarius Ward and Yiadom. This is the best secondary the 49ers have had in the Kyle Shanahan era, and Lenoir is its most crucial cog.
S Ji'Ayir Brown
Lenoir's versatility is a tremendous asset to the 49ers, the task for second-year safety Brown is to give them more flexibility in how they deploy their defensive personnel by continuing the ascension he experienced after being elevated to the starting lineup as a rookie late last season.
Across five regular-season games after filling the void left by the injured Talanoa Hufanga, Brown averaged 0.057 points saved per play, according to SIS. That put him tied 12th among safeties with at least 10 targets.
In his seven appearances (including the postseason), Brown racked up 56 tackles, had five pass breakups and three interceptions, his last coming in the Super Bowl.
All-Pro Hufanga likely won't play in the season opener against the New York Jets on Monday. However, long term this season, the traits Brown possesses are crucial to the 49ers being able to unleash Hufanga to the extent they did in his first-team All-Pro campaign in 2022.
Brown's instincts and athleticism give him tremendous playmaking upside and allow him to operate comfortably as the single-high player, critical for a 49er defense that, despite a lot of tweaks over the years, is still at its core one that plays the Seattle Cover 3 system.
The 2023 third-round pick's comfort in that capacity and his coverage strengths when lined up one on one with receivers should facilitate the 49ers giving Hufanga the freedom to do what he does best, play downhill from the box and close to the line of scrimmage.
In a season where the 49ers will be without linebacker Dre Greenlaw for much of the season as he recovers from the Achilles injury he suffered in the Super Bowl, having Hufanga operate as an additional de-facto linebacker takes on added significance.
San Francisco is a defense that has traditionally rotated its safeties, so communication between Brown and Hufanga will naturally be critical if they are to develop into a dynamic safety pairing.
The partnerships of Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson and then Gipson and Brown gave the 49ers reliability and playmaking ability at safety over the last two seasons. With little depth behind the two starters, the 49ers can't afford a step back in 2024. After receiving deserved acclaim for his supporting role in 2023, Brown must now excel as one of the lead actors on San Francisco defense.
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