Defensive Depth The Likely Priority As San Francisco 49ers Turn Toward Draft

The San Francisco 49ers possess one of the premier rosters in the NFL. Despite losing a host of talent from the team that went 13-4 last season before losing in the NFC Championship Game in free agency, the Niners are still blessed with a group of players that will be expected to help them contend for the Super Bowl.

It has been the defense that has been most affected by the talent drain. Having already seen defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans depart to take the head coaching role with the Houston Texans, the 49ers were unable to hold on two starters from last season as well as several key reserves.

Emmanuel Moseley, who started the first five games of last season at cornerback before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions while Jimmie Ward, who excelled at nickel corner after losing the starting free safety job because of injury, linked up with Ryans in Houston.

But with Deommodore Lenoir thriving in his second-year initially at nickel and then on the outside following Moseley’s injury and the Niners bringing in Isaiah Oliver to fill the void left by Ward in the slot, the 49ers’ secondary still looks in strong shape.

Knowing all too well how quickly injuries can decimate such strength, the 49ers may look to a deep corner class in the draft to solidify the position, and depth on defense looks likely to be the priority as they turn the page toward the NFL’s annual selection meeting next month.

The focus may be primarily on the front seven. Depth was the calling card of the San Francisco front last season but, with edge rushers Charles Omenihu, Samson Ebukam and Jordan Willis all departing for pastures new, the Niners are short on options at that position behind Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and last year’s second-round pick Drake Jackson, who appeared to fade down the stretch of his maiden season and did not play in the postseason.

San Francisco’s blockbuster signing of Javon Hargrave to play alongside Arik Armstead on the interior of the defensive line has given the starting group an even more imposing look but the 49ers — who identified former Raiders first-round pick Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant as reclamation projects whom they signed to one-year deals — have little in the way of insurance against injuries up front.

As such, they will need to make more additions on both the edge and, to a lesser extent, the interior, to ensure they can win through strength in depth up front in 2023.

That might seem an unlikely feat to achieve in a draft in which the 49ers do not pick until the third round and there are doubts over the quality of the edge class beyond the first round.

Yet, with a little over $5 million in cap space at their disposal — per Over The Cap — a move for one of the experienced edge rushers still available on the free agent market may not be cost effective.

Threading the needle and continuing to find steals on day two and day three of the draft as the 49ers have done in recent years is an extremely difficult thing to do.

However, the number of departures on the defensive line appear to have forced San Francisco’s hand, and the Niners look to have little choice but to try to rise to that challenge again in 2023.