49ers overhaul defensive line with rookies and Bryce Huff after disappointing season
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have built their defense out from the defensive line ever since coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived eight years ago.
An underwhelming performance from that unit during a disappointing 2024 season has led to a near complete overhaul at the position with San Francisco now counting on three rookies and recently acquired edge rusher Bryce Huff to give enough support to holdover star Nick Bosa to get back to having a dominant front.
To make sure the additions fit seamlessly, the Niners are relying on defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, who welcomes the challenge with some 'fresh blood in the room.'
'This year is probably one of the more significant turnovers with the youth that we've added to the mix and acquiring Bryce here in the last few days,' Kocurek said Tuesday. 'There will be quite a few new faces in there that will have to make significant contributions. We knew it was a possibility there would be some turnover. It also can be challenging bringing in four to five new guys in a room. But I like it. They're all coming in very eager, willing to learn and trying to get a little better each day, stacking one day on top of the next.'
The 49ers cut three Week 1 starters from last season, letting go of expensive veterans like Javon Hargrave, Leonard Floyd and Maliek Collins and replacing them with youth.
San Francisco used the 11th overall pick on versatile Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams before adding defensive tackles Alfred Collins in the second round and CJ West in the fourth.
Those additions were meant to shore up a run defense that regressed in recent years with the 4.45 yards per carry allowed last season more than 1 yard higher than the 3.4 average in 2022.
The trade for Huff that was officially completed when he passed a physical on Tuesday was aimed at giving the team a dynamic edge rusher across from Bosa.
The team had no other edge rusher who had a season with at least five sacks before trading a conditional fifth-round pick for Huff, who had 10 sacks and 67 pressures on 334 pass rush snaps in 2023 when he played on the New York Jets for Robert Saleh, who is back in San Francisco this season for a second stint as defensive coordinator.
Kocurek said Huff's speed off the edge and his quick get-off 'jumps off the tape' and is confident he can return to that form after struggling last season in Philadelphia in a defense that had him playing more as a stand-up linebacker than a dedicated edge rusher.
Huff had only 2 1/2 sacks and 23 pressures in his one season in Philadelphia, missing five games with a wrist injury. He was then a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl.
'If you're born into a hand-in-the-ground defense, it's an adjustment period to turn yourself into a stand-up, outside linebacker role and vice versa,' Kocurek said. 'There's a learning curve and steps you have to take to master the techniques. It's not just snap your fingers and go to a different scheme.'
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
Kocurek hopes the changes in personnel lead to a change in performance after the struggles up front last season contributed to a 6-11 record and the team's fewest sacks in a season since 2020 when Bosa missed nearly the entire year with a knee injury.
'If that doesn't piss you off than you've got to get out of coaching,' Kocurek said. 'The fire burns deeper in your stomach, the chip gets bigger on your shoulder and you want to do everything humanly possible to make sure it doesn't happen again. No one should be happy about it.'
NOTES: The Niners made three other roster moves after adding Huff. They signed receiver Malik Knowles to a one-year deal, waived OL Nicholas Petit-Frere and placed WR Trent Taylor on IR.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
26 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Aaron Rodgers ends months-long dance with Steelers, informs team he plans to sign, AP source says
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin are taking their bromance to the next level. The four-time NFL MVP ended months of 'will he or won't he' speculation by informing Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers he plans to join the team for the 2025 season, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Rodgers has not yet signed a contract. The Steelers and the 41-year-old Rodgers had been circling each other for months. Rodgers even visited the team's facility in late March, driving in undercover in a nondescript sedan wearing a hat and sunglasses. While there were plenty of nice words from both sides in the aftermath, Rodgers didn't rush to put pen to paper, telling 'The Pat McAfee Show' in April that his attention was focused on helping people in his inner circle who were 'battling some difficult stuff' and that he didn't want to decide until he knew he could fully commit. With mandatory minicamp coming next week, Rodgers apparently finds himself in a place where he can give the Steelers his full attention. ___ AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP NFL:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Olympic champ Imane Khelif skips Eindhoven event after World Boxing introduces mandatory sex testing
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — Olympic champion Imane Khelif is skipping the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands less than a week after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes. The Algerian boxer, who won gold at the Paris Games last summer amid scrutiny over her eligibility, did not register in time for the event before applications closed on Thursday. 'The decision of Imane's exclusion is not ours. We regret it,' tournament media director Dirk Renders told The Associated Press. Khelif had intended to return to international competition at the tournament in Hotel Eindhoven before World Boxing announced its new sex testing policy last Friday. Eindhoven mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem criticized World Boxing's decision. 'As far as we are concerned, all athletes are welcome in Eindhoven. Excluding athletes based on controversial 'gender tests' certainly does not fit in with that,' Dijsselbloem wrote in a letter addressed to the Dutch Boxing Federation and International Boxing Federation. 'We are expressing our disapproval of this decision today and are calling on the organization to admit Imane Khelif after all.' Khelif won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer amid international scrutiny on her and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, another gold medal winner. The previous governing body for Olympic boxing, the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, had disqualified both fighters from its 2023 world championships after claiming they failed unspecified eligibility tests. But the IBA was banished for decades of misdeeds and controversy. The IOC ran the past two Olympic boxing tournaments in its place and it applied the sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics. Khelif and Lin were eligible to compete under those standards. World Boxing has since been provisionally approved as the boxing organizer at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and has faced pressure from boxers and their federations to create sex eligibility standards. Its president, Boris van der Vorst, apologized after Khelif was singled out in the governing body's announcement last week. Khelif planned to defend her gold medal at the LA Games, but some boxers and their federations have already spoken out against her inclusion. ___ AP boxing:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Coco Gauff defeats Loïs Boisson 6-1, 6-2 to reach her second French Open final
PARIS (AP) — As popular as Coco Gauff is, she knew full well that nearly all of the Court Philippe-Chatrier fans would be against her during the French Open semifinals Thursday. That's because Gauff, an American, was taking on a French opponent — and one who came from nowhere, 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson. So the No. 2-seeded Gauff turned to a trick that 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic has talked about using: When the partisan crowd was loudly singing Boisson's first name, Gauff pretended they were chanting 'Coco!' Not that it mattered much, truly, because Gauff was by far the superior player throughout a 6-1, 6-2 victory that earned her a second trip to the final at Roland-Garros. Three years ago, Gauff missed out on a chance to leave with the trophy when Iga Swiatek beat her. This time, Swiatek won't be around for the championship match on Saturday, because her 26-match unbeaten run at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament ended earlier Thursday with a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 loss to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka vs. Gauff will be the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP tennis:
