San Francisco 49ers: And with the first pick in the 2019 Draft, they select…

Edge Rusher

It should probably go without saying that the 49ers need a huge infusion of talent on the defensive edges. A lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks has allowed them to slice and dice the defense week, after week, after week.

San Francisco 49ers

While some might say it’s way too early to slap the bust label on Arik Armstead and Solomon Thomas, the best that can be said about them right now is that they’re draft disappointments – in a big way.

Neither has produced at a level that comes close to justifying the first-round pick used on either of them.

As a unit this year, the 49ers have produced a total of 26 sacks. While that’s a tremendous amount in comparison to say, the Oakland Raiders, it’s not such a great stat overall. It shows just how little pressure San Francisco is getting on the quarterback.

Further highlighting the problem is that Armstead and Solomon, both arguably their top edge rushers, have a combined four sacks. Four. Between the two – Armstead with three, Thomas with just one. DeForest Buckner leads the team with seven sacks on the year.

Luckily for the 49ers, this year’s draft class if flush with pass rushing talent. And should they end up with the first overall pick, they’re going to have their pick of any of them. Guys like Ohio State’s Nick Bosa, Clelin Ferrell out of Clemson, or Zach Allen out of Boston College would help put some teeth into the San Francisco pass rush.

And even if they don’t get the top overall, they’ll likely still be in the top three, which means they will still have plenty of pass rushing talent to choose from.