2020 Roster Preview: Defense
![Can these two build on breakout seasons? [Getty Images]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e40f3a094d5fa3ebbbedb09/1599163280570-3096EX2A7KVF0AP9S86K/EZ+Boza.jpg)
Can these two build on breakout seasons? [Getty Images]
Now for a look at the defense, which has—for the most part—been the better unit through training camp. This is far from surprising considering defenses usually gel faster, our D was the better unit for most of last year, and that side of the ball returns every single player from its two deep except DeFo and (kind of) Sheldon Day.
Injury Report :(
Thankfully, the majority of our injured defenders seem to be dealing with more “day-to-day” concerns that could be cleared up come game time. Here they are, separated into designations based on projected return dates.
Players Unable to Perform (PUP) List
These players will be inactive for at least the first six weeks of the season.
DT, Jullian Taylor: After a late-November ACL tear, Taylor’s recovery has been progressing faster than anticipated. There’s an outside chance he could suit up for week 1, but—considering the severity of the injury and our depth along the interior line—it’s more likely that he’s put on the PUP list to start the year. That way the Niners can play it safe, try out some young guys in the interim, and Taylor can provide a big-bodied reinforcement midway through the season.
Early season return
These players will be expected back early in the season, perhaps as soon as week 1
DE, Ronald Blair: Our second ACL tear along the D-line, Blair’s recovery has also been progressing faster than expected. He’s been running and doing agility work, and there’s a chance he could play week 1—although I would highly doubt it considering the risk vs. reward. That being said, the odds are he’ll stay off the PUP list, meaning we’ll get back our top off-the-bench edge rusher sometime during the first few games.
Expected back by week 1
CB, K’Waun Williams: Our starting nickel corner suffered a calf strain two weeks ago, but is expected to be back in a week or so. Jamar Taylor has been getting the reps inside in his stead, but if Williams can’t go week one, the duties may fall to someone else (as Taylor may not make the active roster).
DE, Nick Bosa: The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Bosa missed the last week of training camp with what started as a “maintenance day” due to leg soreness, but—after an MRI was taken—revealed a muscle strain that has him listed as “week-to-week.” He apparently has been moving around fine around the practice field, so—at the moment—there doesn’t seem to be anything concrete that should keep him from suiting up week one.
DE, Dee Ford: Ford, who had a clean-up surgery in the off-season and entered training camp fresher than he’d been since week 2 of last season, suffered a calf strain just before Bosa was injured. He seems to be in the same boat as Bosa, although the team is probably even more cautious with Ford due to his lengthy injury history. When talking earlier this week about injuries, Shanahan said he’d be “very surprised” if Bosa and Ford weren’t available week one.
Similar to Deebo, Aiyuk, and really anyone else whose week one status is up in the air, the practice reports next week should give us a clearer picture of who’s suiting up September 13th. Although there has been some good injury news on the offensive front, both Kittle and Ross Dwelley were back at practice yesterday and seem to be full go.
COVID/Reserve List
This list is reserved for players who must be isolated from their team because they either tested positive for COVID or have come in contact with someone who tested positive
LB, Fred Warner: Just Monday, Fred Warner was put on the COVID/Reserve List. Teams don’t report if the list assignment was the result of a positive test or simply coming into contact with someone who tested positive. If it’s the latter, he’s only out until he receives a negative test result; if it’s the former and Warner is asymptomatic, he could be back as soon as 5 days from now (pending two negative tests within a 24-hour time frame and team physician approval); if he’s symptomatic he’ll need to wait at least ten days from the outset of his symptoms to return to the team.
Hopefully, Warner isn’t sick, cause—you know—having COVID sucks and it’s not something you should wish on anyone—and that he’ll be back healthy and on the field in no time. While he’s gone, Kwon Alexander will likely fill his role as the Mike linebacker, which would slide Dre Greenlaw back to the starting Will position.
Rehab Warriors
As a testament to how many injuries we’ve suffered over the years, we have this category for both offense and defense. Each of these guys has struggled for the past 2+ years with injuries, and each of them has been getting rave reviews at practice for how much better and healthier they’ve looked.
By all accounts, Jason Verrett has looked like an entirely different player this year. He’s been making plays during practice, his speed is back to where it was during his All-Pro days, and he’s been rotating in with the first-team defense opposite Richard Sherman. While he may or may not win that starting position, he seems to have all but secured himself a roster spot and given us much-needed depth at the CB position.
We’ve yet to see what Kentavius Street can do in the NFL, as he took a “redshirt” year in 2018 after an ACL tear and his attempted return to the fold in 2019 was snuffed out after three games and only a handful of snaps. This year, Street has been making an impact, transferring his incredible weight room strength to the field and giving the team a bit more confidence in its interior DL rotation in a post-DeFo world. We’ll get to Street a bit more later, but until then, remember he’s the dude behind this absurd viral video.
Earl Thomas Watch?
Lol. Absolutely not.
I’ll admit, I really wanted the Niners to pursue Thomas last off-season (although not at the price tag he eventually signed for), but—as the old adage goes—one orgy with your brother during a pandemic that ends with your wife tracking you to a hotel via Snapchat and pointing a loaded gun at your head really goes a long way. Throw in that with a practice ejection, fines for being late to practice cause he “had to get his car washed,” and the quick exit from Baltimore even though the Ravens will have to take a hefty dead cap hit, and this is just not a tree we need to shake. Like at all. Besides, Jimmie Ward was arguably better than Thomas last year.
Position Breakdowns
DEFENSIVE END
Our top three edge defenders return in Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Dee Ford. While each of the three has missed camp time due to injuries, expectations are high entering their second year together. Despite his calf injury, Ford seems to be in a better position to play more snaps this year than at any point in 2019. Bosa has struggled against Trent Williams in their one-on-one pass pro matchups, but he’s made plenty of splash plays throughout camp. There’s no reason to expect a sophomore slump.
Behind them, Ronald Blair is the best fourth edge rusher in the league, a guy who would start on most teams, and one who will provide a much-needed burst off the edge once he returns from injury. He was in the midst of a career-year and would have commanded free agent money if he hadn’t gotten hurt during a contract year. Once he returns, he’ll be hungry to make some money next off-season.
Up for Grabs: Second-line edge rusher. Blair’s locked up one of those spots once he returns, but what about until then? And who pairs with him when the team’s top three are off the field (or Armstead has slid inside)?
That’s where new signing Dion Jordan (theoretically) comes into play. Jordan was the the first and the highest-selected of the mid 2010’s wave of Oregon defensive linemen that the Niners have now all had on roster at one point or another. Coming out of college at 6-6 248 pounds and running a 4.60 forty, Jordan was taken #3 overall by the Dolphins and now, having bulked up to 270 pounds, presents a tantalizing option as a depth rusher with high upside and flashes (mainly on limited snaps in 2017 for the Seahawks) of living up to at least some fraction of his potential.
So what has limited him to this point? So many failed drug tests. In 2014, just his second year in the league, he was given a 6 game suspension for two failed tests of the NFL’s performance enhancing drug (PED) rules. In 2015, a diluted sample led to full year’s suspension. In 2017, he moved on to the Seahawks, and—after a short stint on the PUP list due to a knee injury—appeared in five games and amassed a 85.8 PFF rating. The following year he was less productive and had his season interrupted by—you guessed it—another failed drug test. Although in his defense, it was for Adderall, which he takes for his ADHD and had a medical waiver for; he just accidentally let the waiver lapse. He served the remainder of his 10 game suspension on the Raiders last year, where he was a decent performer, and now he’s here.
If healthy and clean, Jordan has the physical profile and has flashed the ability to provide a very nice spark off the bench. Think of a Dante Fowler-like impact (but for free instead of for a third and fifth round pick) with a smaller and more specific role and the upside to get a more efficient performer because of that. Jordan also give us another edge guy with some juice if Dee Ford’s injury issues limit him again this year. If we get the 2017 Dion Jordan this is obviously a major steal, but even if we get the 2018-19 Jordan this is a valuable acquisition. While him staying clean will always be a question, the drug tests were for PEDs, not recreational, and seeing as his last positive was a legitimate mistake for a prescription of Adderall, he actually hasn’t had those issues for what would now be 5 years.
That was the thought going into camp, but now? Jordan is likely on the roster bubble. Despite his physical tools, he hasn’t made a huge impression at camp—the majority of his splash plays coming with pure speed against second tackles. Turns out, it’s the Niners earlier and less heralded pickup who seems more likely to have solidified a rotational role.
Playing under Kris Kocurek in Detroit, Kerry Hyder was a rising star—accumulating 8 sacks and 19 QB hits in only two starts (and 16 total games played) in 2016–before an achilles rupture took out his entire 2017 season. He returned to the Lions as a rotational player in 2018 and spent last year in the Cowboys’ stacked defensive edge room. With an achilles tear often a two-year injury, perhaps he was still getting up to speed in 2018 then simply got buried in Dallas last year? The 29 year-old has only started 2 games in his career, but is an intriguing fit due to familiarity and past production. He also has the size and game to moonlight a bit on the inside on passing downs.
Despite an underwhelming camp, Jordan’s juice off the edge could make him hard to move on from considering Dee Ford’s injury history and the Niners’ struggles once they ran out of edge speed in the latter part of the season. But most beat reporters seem to agree, Jordan’s been outplayed by the other guys on this list and the tackles we’re about to discuss. Could Jordan, a former #3 overall pick, be able to get stashed on the practice squad with the COVID/veteran exemption? Perhaps. But if not, and we need edge rush help later in the season, Damontre Moore is still available... just sayin.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
The monster snap counts and Herculean durability of DeFo are now gone, and the Niners will look to replace him with an upside-heavy first-round pick and a defensive tackle rotation that could prove surprisingly deep.
First, the proven commodity. Nose tackle D.J. Jones had a breakout year in 2019, showcasing great quickness and activity on the interior despite his 305-pound frame. He was a terror against the run, but was less impactful against the pass—in part due to a lack of snaps to prove himself. That being said, he certainly flashed when given the chance...
This off-season, Jones has talked about trying to improve as a pass-rusher this year so that he can stay on the field more often. While it’s always nice to have more pass-rush capable players, how much we need him on passing downs may come down to the development of this year’s 14th overall pick.
First-round pick Javon Kinlaw has had an uneven first training camp. He’s huge, strong, and has a great motor, but there’s a lot of polish needed before he projects as a difference-maker—particularly against the pass. Throughout college, he always showed more promise and potential than polish, so that shouldn’t be particularly surprising, and when competing in pass-rush drills this camp against Laken Tomlinson—one of the stronger players on the team—Kinlaw has mostly been stone-walled. It’s a good matchup for Kinlaw, who will need to develop beyond his pure athleticism and power while matched up against a player of similar strength. While some are already pointing to Kinlaw as a disappointment, this is actually right where we should have expected him to be based on his tape. He is a high-ceiling player picked for his long-term projection. The thought going in was that if he was going to make a major impact as a rookie it would be later in the season as he improved his technique and savvy, and with one of the top DL coaches in the league behind him, that’s not out of the question. Regardless, Kinlaw should be expected to start in our base packages where he can use his strength to anchor against the run, but the Niners may need more rotational help in nickel packages if they’re looking for four pass rushers on the field. Some of that could come from Jones, but we have other options as well.
Jullian Taylor, our third defensive tackle over three bills (305 pounds), played well before going down to injury last year. When he’s back, he’s got great strength and is suited for battling on the interior.
Finally, finally, finally Solomon Thomas will be playing inside and only inside, and he’s responded by beefing up from 265 last season to 280+ this year in order to handle the extra blockers. Getting a bunch of first-team snaps while Armstead was nursing back tightness at the beginning of camp, Thomas has looked good at his more natural position, winning with quickness and anchoring with power while being active along the DL. While talk of a full-on breakout would be optimistic (although not impossible considering Armstead and Ward’s recent trajectories), the weight gain and Saleh’s commitment to keeping Thomas “inside at all costs” should lead to his best year as a pro.
Also on the rebound, Kentavius Street has been one of the bigger surprises of camp. While his quick exit from the 2019 season made it seem like his Niners career may have fizzled out before it even got going, it turns out he just needed more time to rehab. Now fully healthy, he’s been getting constant mentions for his explosive power.
It’s worth noting, Street was named SI’s biggest athletic freak leading up to the 2018 NFL Combine, beating out calf-god Saquon Barkley and Leighton Vander Esch for top honors with some absurd testing projections.
Street is expected to weigh in at 6'2" and around 285 pounds, and don’t be surprised if he’s clocked in the 4.5s in the 40-yard dash. At 281 pounds last year, he ran an electronically timed 4.58, vertical jumped 40 inches, benched 475 pounds and squatted 700. He’s also the most flexible guy in the NC State program according to strength coach Dantonio Burnette. “It’s almost like a big receiver,” says Yo Murphy, a former NFL wideout who has helped train Street for the combine over the past two months.
That would be one very, very big receiver.
While the vertical and forty-yard dash times sound like they’ve got rather strong hints of home-cooked stopwatch propaganda, Street is nevertheless a guy who’s impressive on the hoof and has incredible raw power and athleticism. He was expected to be a second round pick until—just three weeks before the draft—he blew out his knee during a workout with the Giants. Based on the timing of the injury, his “redshirt” year was a given. Now, it seems, he’s ready to deliver on the Niners’ multi-year investment.
Meanwhile, Kevin Givens, who flashed a ton of potential in last summer’s preseason and was promoted to last year’s active roster after Jullian Taylor was put on IR, has continued on his upward trend. At 6-1 285 pounds, he’s a one-gap shooter with nice explosiveness and burst. Unless they’re a high draft pick, it’s usually hard to give that guy meaningful snaps as a rookie due to their potential for getting washed out in the run game. But, in year two, Givens has continued to turn heads and provides some very intriguing potential considering fellow three-techs Jones and Thomas are UFAs after this season. While keeping Givens on the active roster would likely bump Dion Jordan from the first 53, it seems the likely move considering the former’s youth and potential.
Intrigue: While Kinlaw is a massive human, the Niners have clearly committed to a smaller, gap-shooter type elsewhere along their interior line. This makes sense given the aggressive principles of the Wide 9 front as well as its nose tackle alignment—at a “2i” instead of a “1-technique” so that he’s further from the center and thus harder to double team—but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for a big run-stuffer if he can move.
That’s where undrafted free agent Darrion Daniels comes into play. At 6’3 311 pounds (listed at 325 his final year of college), Daniels is built like a tank and has used his strength to toss around the Niners’ many undersized backup centers in pass pro drills. But he’s also shown enough quickness in camp to make people think he could have a D.J. Jones-like trajectory as an active interior run-stuffer. Also, he’s apparently a big anime fan?
While our logjam along the defensive line likely means Daniels will be on the practice squad this year, he—like Givens—could become building blocks for our interior DL in the coming years. With a COVID-lowered cap next year, you can’t have too many young guys on the practice squad who you’re prepping to step into future roles.
LINEBACKER
Our top three are set in stone. Fred Warner has arguably been the biggest star of training camp and looks poised to take another gigantic leap forward into truly elite linebacker territory. He’s routinely been making splash plays and leading the defense. If he can continue to develop his quick-trigger against the run and improve his open-field tackling, he could be in for a major breakout season. That is, if his COVID scare is minor.
Kwon Alexander was named the starter at Will very early in training camp. That means he’ll take over the full-time starting role and look to improve upon a hot start to a season that ended on a sour note with his playoff struggles. He too needs to work on improved open-field tackling, but the arrow is still pointing up.
That means Dre Greenlaw, one of our rookie gems from last year, will be a part-time starter as the Sam linebacker, coming off the field in nickel sets. While I was hoping for a full-on competition for the Will spot, Greenlaw at Sam makes a lot more sense than Kwon would. After all, Greenlaw was the second-most efficient tackler in the NFL last year, so it makes sense that one of our surest tacklers can man the most run-heavy position of our linebacker corps.
Combine Greenlaw’s strong tackling with the flashes he’s shown in coverage…
…and whether it’s later this year, next season, or further down the road, Greenlaw seems to have a bright future whenever he becomes a full-time starter for us again. Which is as good an excuse as any to show this clip again.
The fourth linebacker spot seems destined for Azeez Al-Shaair. The speedy second-year man from FAU is now a full year removed from the ACL tear that took away most of his final college season and led to him falling out of the draft. The Wide 9 requires speedy, aggressive linebacker play, and we probably have the fastest LB corps in the league. Retaining Al-Shaair, who will only get better after seeing a decent number of snaps last year, makes sense, both as a sub and as a potential 2021 starter in case the team moves on from Kwon after this year.
Up for Grabs: Final (5th) LB spot. Mark Nzeocha doesn’t get many snaps on defense but he’s been a stalwart for Richard Hightower’s special teams unit, which has seen some amount of “attrition” with former gunners Raheem Mostert and Emmanuel Moseley moving into major snaps on offense and defense, respectively. Continuity and Hightower’s affection towards him will surely help Nzeocha’s case. His competition, Joe Walker, is a new add this off-season who also plays on all the special teams units. While less experienced in the Niners system, he started 11 games at linebacker for the Cardinals last year, giving him a potential edge if they decide this position based more on who could play defense in a pinch rather than special teams prowess.
CORNERBACK
Richard Sherman enters the last year of his contract coming off an All-Pro selection and entrenched as our left boundary corner. Despite a disappointing finish to last year’s playoffs, he seems like the same old Sherman in training camp, picking off Jimmy G a handful of times in team sessions.
Once he returns from injury, perennially underrated K’Waun Williams will man the nickel spot again, where he’s one of the league’s best. With DJ Reed swooped up by the Seahawks (sad), Williams’ backup is TBD. Jamar Taylor has filled in well while K’Waun has been out, but he may not even make the active roster. That means the nickel spot could be some combination of safety Tarvarius Moore and whoever doesn’t start from the battle below.
Up for grabs: Starting right boundary corner. The Niners have opened the competition to start opposite Sherman to all three of our returning veteran corners. Emmanuel Moseley, the former UDFA who legit came out of nowhere to play a huge role in our defense, seems to have the upper hand coming out of camp. That makes the most sense given how he finished last year and the fact that he is young and is just now in his first training camp where he’s been getting major snaps outside.
Nipping at his heels is Jason Verrett, who has been getting rave reviews from players, coaches, and reporters alike. A consensus top 5 corner both of his first years in the league, multiple injuries have sapped Verrett’s 4.38 speed, but—according to GPS speed tracking technology in practice which has clocked him at 22.2 mph (as a rookie he hit 22.5 mph with the chargers)—that speed has finally returned. Seemingly, so has his confidence and burst. Even if he doesn’t secure a starting spot, having him as a strong backup option will be a nice boost to our secondary.
The third player competing for the starting position, but the one that reporters seem to agree is the least likely to win it, is Ahkello Witherspoon. He hasn’t looked bad in camp, but he hasn’t stood out in the way Moseley and Verrett have. Despite understandable frustrations with Witherspoon and his tremendous physical talent, if he’s more like last year than the year before, that means the Niners’ depth at cornerback is actually better than it was a year ago. There’s been some positing that Witherspoon—as the team’s fourth corner but someone who doesn’t play inside—could be moved before the roster cut down date to free up room for one of the names below, but at the moment, that is pure speculation.
Now... all five of the guys mentioned above are free agents after this season (although Moseley is an RFA, so if he plays well he’s coming back at a discount). So what about the future of the cornerback room? Are we setting ourselves up for a brutal 2021 filled with scrounging for replacement parts in a COVID cap? That’s where questions about Jamar Taylor and last year’s sixth-round development project Tim Harris come in.
At 6-2, 205 pounds, Harris certainly looks the part of a starting NFL corner, and he seems to have had a decent training camp. But not making a splash while each of the five names above him are starting or competing for starting positions means he is highly unlikely to make the active roster. That doesn’t mean he wont develop into a contributor in 2021—when our secondary is certain to see major turnover—but it does mean that—pending a surprise trade like the one mentioned above—we’ll have to stash Harris and Taylor on the practice squad this year.
It’s almost impossible to predict how much waiver wire and practice squad movement there will be in a year without a preseason to showcase players’ talents, but Taylor—who could only be retained with one of the COVID-year veteran practice squad exemption slots—may be difficult to stash considering he was a full-time starter as recently as 2017 and has played in 26 games over the past two years. Harris on the other hand—a second-year sixth-round pick who was on IR all of his rookie year and has yet to play an NFL snap—should (hopefully) be safe on the practice squad. That would allow him more time to develop within our system so that he could try for an active roster spot—and an important role—in 2021.
SAFETY
Jimmie Ward is back with a new contract. The hope is that his incredible string of bad injury luck was just that—bad luck—and that it’s all out of his system now that we’ve committed serious money to him. Yes. Let’s hope that.
Opposite him is Jaquiski Tartt, who has had as strong a training camp as anyone as he enters a contract year. We really missed Tartt when he was out last year, and it would be just so very chill if both of our safeties could—for the first time ever—stay healthy this year.
Behind Ward is third-year safety Tarvarius Moore, who played every snap at free safety for the first three games of 2019 before rarely seeing the field on defense the rest of the year. He was last spotted being the single most active player in the Super Bowl, playing only five defensive snaps, and in that time totaling two pass deflections, a pick, and a defensive PI that gave the Chiefs the ball on the two-yard line. With Ward re-signed for the long haul, it’ll be interesting to see what the team’s long-term plan is for Moore, who has two years left on his rookie deal.
Moore has a lot of physical talent and—after playing mostly corner as a rookie before shifting to safety after Ward went down in training camp of last year—may have just finished his first training camp entirely at safety. There’s room for growth. But where does he wind up?
Tartt is in the final year of his contract, but Moore—whose biggest weakness at safety last year seemed to be deep-field tackling angles—doesn’t seem to be the next man up at strong safety, even if the two positions are more interchangeable now than ever. Moore was seen playing some nickel corner late last season; perhaps they envision him as a semi-big nickel? Or maybe they’re looking at a few more three safety-type alignments to counteract the spread out dink-and-dunk air raids of the world? Whatever the plan is, the last thing we want to see is a hurried “let’s put him back at boundary corner in his contract year” move next year; that’s the kind of thing we’d do in years past and which, in part, greatly hindered Jimmie Ward’s development.
Up for grabs: Fourth safety position. Incumbent strong safety backup Marcell Harris returns after what was—despite a few pronounced coverage mishaps—a better starting run to end last year than he’s likely given credit for. While he’s still better at the more physical side of safety play, he hasn’t yet reached his ceiling and the team likes his physicality and energy.
The staff would likely prefer to keep Harris as the fourth safety but brought in former first-round pick and long-time Jags starter Johnathan Cyprien to offer some competition. Cyprien has delivered some nice plays in camp, at the same time when Harris was nursing an ankle injury, but—if Harris is healthy—I’d expect the Niners to go with him on their active 53. While Cyprien has nice experience in the Niners’ scheme (the Jags ran the Seattle 3), the Niners have shifted more and more away from that scheme in the past year, and would surely prefer if Harris—and his two remaining years on a rookie contract—continues as Tartt’s backup.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Robbie Gould will kick. Mitch Wishnowsky will punt. Kyle Nelson will long snap.
The only real competition will be in who returns kicks and punts. Athletically, someone like Mostert could be perfect for kicks (in fact, he averages 24.2 yards/return over his career), but he’s way too crucial for our offense to put back there. Considering kick returns are getting less and less important every year, I’m game to put back whoever is fast, won’t shit the bed, and doesn’t see major snaps on offense or defense back there.
As for punts, Trent Taylor seems like he’s leading the pack, but if Tavon Austin does indeed make the team, returning punts could be the perfect place for him. His averages the past three years (none over 5.8 yards/return on limited returns) haven’t been great, but he also has three career punt return TDs to his name.
That is all.
Have a good Labor Day everyone!