3 edge rushers the 49ers must consider at the trade deadline
The San Francisco 49ers looked to have built one of the best defensive lines in football ahead of the 2023 season. However, eight weeks into the campaign it is a group that faces a significant amount of questions. San Francisco has had little problem winning its pass rushes up front, but the problem that has […]
The San Francisco 49ers looked to have built one of the best defensive lines in football ahead of the 2023 season. However, eight weeks into the campaign it is a group that faces a significant amount of questions.
San Francisco has had little problem winning its pass rushes up front, but the problem that has become apparent as the 49ers have dropped three in a row is a failure to get home on those pressures.
The Niners have only 18 sacks on the season despite ranking ninth in pressure rate (25%), per Pro Football Reference and possessing an edge rusher in Nick Bosa who is third among all edge rushers in total pressures (44), per Pro Football Focus.
Despite a trade for Randy Gregory, San Francisco has gotten precious little from the other defensive end spot across from Bosa and the Niners are reported to still be interested in adding to the position. With that in mind, let's look at some candidates as the deadline nears.
Chase Young
Young's former Washington Commanders teammate Montez Sweat came off the board with his trade to the Chicago Bears, but the prospect of pairing Bosa with the Ohio State pass rusher that followed him in being taken second overall in the draft is an extremely tantalizing one.
When fully healthy, Young is a force of nature with a tremendous get-off who can win with power and has the ability to bend around the edge with consummate ease for a man of his 6ft 5in and 264-pound frame. Free of injury after seeing back-to-back seasons derailed by health issues, Young has 38 pressures this season, tied for eighth among edge rushers.
Still only 24, the 49ers would surely view Young as a long-term investment and would likely have to move quickly to tie him down to a new contract. The opportunity cost to have the chance to do so might be too much for a team that needs to refresh its roster in the draft next April.
Danielle Hunter
The 49ers have first-hand experience of how Hunter can impact the passing game.
Hunter had six pressures as the Minnesota Vikings stunned the 49ers in Week 7, proving a nightmare for 49ers right tackle Colton McKivitz.
McKivitz is far from the first to be in such a position. Hunter is non-traditional in the manner in which he attacks pass protection and possesses a well-refined arsenal of moves to go with often devastating explosiveness and power.
Boasting the athletic gifts to win inside and out, Hunter is 12th among all edge rushers with 34 pressures. While he might not provide the run-game upside Sweat — PFF's third-highest graded edge run defender — might have offered, the 49ers would be wise to enquire about the chances of landing a pass rusher in the prime of his career whom the Vikings could have more appetite to trade following Kirk Cousins' season-ending Achilles injury.
Josh Uche
Kyle Shanahan has a strong relationship with Bill Belichick, and that could be utilized to help the 49ers land a player who hasn't quite realized his potential with the New England Patriots.
Uche only has two sacks this season, but he is 17th in pass rush win rate among edge defenders with at least 50 pass rush snaps.
A wrecking ball who can generate tremendous speed to power, Uche offers the length and explosiveness 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek covets, and he could prove an extremely astute addition who would likely not cost as much as Young or Hunter.
Potential 49ers target granted permission to seek trade
The odds of a move just got better.
