The San Francisco 49ers have had a quiet offseason after missing out on the playoffs. There was a lot of turnover on the roster, which they hope translates to more wins.
The 49ers brought back Robert Saleh as the defensive coordinator and made an emphasis on bringing in players to bolster the run defense. They were 18th in the league in run defense (124.6) but clearly wanted to improve in that area in the NFL draft.
The 49ers drafted three players along the defensive line in Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, and CJ West. Collins and West both play inside and will push for playing time immediately, which is bad news for DT Kevin Givens.
Givens has been with the 49ers for the last six seasons and re-signed on a one-year deal. Throughout his career there, he served as a rotational lineman, logging at least 28% of the snaps for the last five seasons. In 65 games, Givens has compiled 90 total tackles, 18 TFLs, and eight sacks.
Over the last three seasons, he has finished with a sub-50 run defense grade per PFF (42.3 in 2022, 46.5 in 2023, and 38.4 in 2024).
These are disappointing numbers for a player who was kept on the roster for a specific role. Collins and West are two players who will push for playing time early on in the season. The 49ers released Javon Hargrave in March, indicating the unit wasn't good enough.
Givens is someone who could get early first-team reps to kick off the offseason, but that won't be the case as time goes on. He was given a six-year sample size in San Francisco and didn't do enough to firmly establish himself at the top of the depth chart for the long term.
For a couple of weeks, it looked like he was going to have a major role upfront, but after the draft, it looks like that is a thing of the past.