The San Francisco 49ers have a need at tackle heading into Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. … [+] (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reservedOne thing became clear during the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason win over the Denver Broncos Saturday night. Depth is missing as it relates to several spots on the 49ers’ roster heading into Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 10.
As Brock Purdy made his first appearance since undergoing offseason elbow surgery, left tackle Trent Williams was not on the field to protect his blindside. Instead, that duty fell on third-year reserve Jaylon Moore.
The former fifth-round pick from Western Michigan struggled for the second consecutive game to open the preseason. He allowed two pressures on 18 pass-blocking snaps. It was so bad that head coach Kyle Shanahan schemed away from his side several times throughout the game. That included multiple times during Purdy’s scoring drive to open the game:
On the other side of the ball, depth out on the edge has to be seen as a concern. With Nick Bosa still holding out for a new contract, there has not been a whole lot in this area through two preseason games.
San Francisco got to Broncos quarterbacks for two sacks and five hits Saturday night. Of those, both sacks and four of the five hits came from the interior of the defensive line. The only exception was a hit free agent signing Austin Bryant put on Jarrett Stidham.
The 49ers are relying on Bryant as well as fellow free agent signing Clelin Ferrell and second-year player Drake Jackson to produce behind Bosa on the depth chart. None of the three have a proven track record of success. This is certainly an area of need.
Internal Options On San Francisco 49ers Depth ChartThe San Francisco 49ers are banking on Clelin Ferrell to shed his bust status. (Photo by Ethan … [+] Miller/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesSwing tackle is an obvious area of concern for Kyle Shanahan’s squad. In addition to the aforementioned Moore, the 49ers signed veteran Matt Pryor in free agency. The fifth-year tackle has experience with 14 starts over the past two seasons. All of those starts came at left tackle with the Indianapolis Colts.
He was not good in that role a season ago, giving up six sacks while committing five penalties in just 576 snaps. The experience is good. The track record is not.
Outside of that, there’s not much on San Francisco’s 90-man roster at tackle. Jim Manning, Leroy Watson and Alfredo Gutierrez have played exactly zero regular season snaps in their careers.
I mentioned Bryant and Ferrell on the defensive side of the ball above. The good news is that each has experience. Bryant started six games during his four-year run with the Detroit Lions. The former fourth-round pick from Clemson recorded 11 quarterback hits and 4.5 sacks during that span. We’re not talking about someone who has been extremely productive during his NFL career.
The same thing can be said about fellow former Clemson star Clelin Ferrell, who was the No. 4 overall pick of the then-Oakland Raiders back in 2019. In four seasons with the Silver and Black, Ferrell registered 32 quarterback hits and 10 sacks. While he’s shown flashes through two preseason games, the track record speaks for itself.
Enter into the equation 2022 second-round pick Drake Jackson from USC. He was pretty good in limited action last season, putting up eight passes defended, six quarterback hits three tackles for loss and three sacks. Though, the grind of a 17-game season caught up to Jackson as a rookie.
The San Francisco 49ers will be relying on second-year defensive end Drake Jackson a lot in 2023. … [+] (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved“Towards the end of the season, I would say my body wasn’t the same as it was starting the season,“ Jackson said back in June, via ESPN. „I know that of course it’s going to wear down, but I feel like I didn’t have enough, so I just kind of keep working and try to have what I need for the rest of the season.“
The hope is that increased bulk will solve these issues. But the idea of relying on Jackson and his inexperience behind Bosa can’t be seen as ideal for new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
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NFL Free Agent Options For The San Francisco 49ersJason Peters is a realistic option for the San Francisco 49ers in NFL free agency. (Photo by … [+] Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesSan Francisco currently has $10.8 million to spend under the 2023 NFL salary cap. Once the team signs Nick Bosa to what will be an historic contract, that number will actually grow by a few million. Long-term contracts tend to lower initial cap hits.
This means that general manager John Lynch and Co. are in position to add a couple veterans at the aforementioned need positions heading into Week 1.
The better news here? San Francisco has several options it can consider in free agency. At tackle, the likes of Taylor Lewan and Jason Peters are available on the open market.
The No. 11 overall pick of the Tennessee Titans back in 2014, Lewan has earned three Pro Bowl trips throughout his career. The Michigan product has started 100 of a possible 105 games during this span, all at left tackle.
At one point in his career, Peters was among the best tackles in the game. He earned a Pro Bowl spot each season from 2007-2016. While Peters is a bit long in the tooth at 41 years old, he’s made it clear he wants to play this season. The former Arkansas standout played the role of a swing tackle for the Dallas Cowboys last season, getting in 10 games with one start. He continued to play well in that limited action.
There are even more options out on the edge. Veterans Melvin Ingram, Mario Addison and Carlos Dunlap are all available on the NFL free agent market.
Of that group, Ingram seems to be the best fit. The three-time Pro Bowler recorded 10 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and six sacks in a part-time role with the Miami Dolphins last season. He’s an ideal situational pass rusher and could spell Jackson at times in 2023.
Addison has experience playing in San Francisco’s 4-3 scheme. While the veteran struggled with the Houston Texans last sason (one sack), he’s a year removed from putting up seven sacks for the Buffalo Bills.
Dunlap, 34, also has experience in the 49ers’ 4-3 scheme. Over the course of the past two seasons, the veteran registered 26 quarterback hits and 12.5 sacks. He’s been uber productive during his NFL career with 11 seasons of at least six sacks.
The 49ers have attempted to fill out the margins of their roster at need positions with free agent signings. Out on the edge, that included bringing in former Dallas Cowboys first-round pick Taco Charlton recently. He was just placed on injured reserve earlier this week, leading to an obvious need.
Based on what we saw from Moore and other tackles Saturday night against Denver, offensive tackle also has to be addressed.
I fully expect Lynch and Co. to kick the tires on these veteran options over the next week or so. It wouldn’t be a surprise if at least one of the players mentioned above is signed for depth.