(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The San Francisco 49ers have an absolutely stacked roster going into the 2023 NFL season, and they’re one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl championship next winter.
They’re especially strong on the defensive side of the football, where they led the league in points and total yards allowed last season.
Defensive end Nick Bosa had a monster season with a league-high 18.5 sacks, which earned him the Defensive Player of the Year award.
But San Francisco’s pass rush should get even better with the addition of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who will bring some pressure on opposing quarterbacks from the interior.
49ers insider David Lombardi feels the 2023 team could have the best pass-rush attack ever since head coach Kyle Shanahan and executive John Lynch arrived in 2017.
Circling back to my tweet yesterday: Can the 49ers field their best pass rush of this regime?
Javon Hargrave has been a better pass rusher than DeForest Buckner, so that’d be a big first step to challenging the 2019 line.
It might come down to DE spot opposite Nick Bosa https://t.co/mNKEYDxllP
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) June 13, 2023
When the Niners reached the Super Bowl in the 2019 season, they had DeForest Bucker at defensive tackle, whose production is similar to Hargrave’s, but Bosa was a rookie then, and he’s a much better player now.
Last season, Hargrave put up a career-high 11 sacks for the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, who defeated San Francisco in the conference championship game after QB Brock Purdy tore the UCL in his throwing elbow.
As was the case 10 years ago during the Jim Harbaugh era, the Niners have built their team around defense, and throughout the unit, they possess stars.
Behind Bosa and Hargrave, they boast All-Pro first-team middle linebacker Fred Warner, as well as fellow linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who may be headed for a Pro Bowl berth soon.
In the secondary, safety Talanoa Hufanga blossomed this year and earned a spot on the All-Pro first-team while cornerback Charvarius Ward did well in his own right.
If the Niners figure out their quarterback situation, they could be the last team standing in February 2024.
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