If you read my previous two articles on the 49ers headed into the 2025 season which was the Pre-Draft team preview and the 2025 Post-Draft Offensive Outlook of the team. You could see that I felt that San Francisco was in about as good of a shape in previous Super Bowl contending seasons as they were with Kyle Shanahan on the offensive side of the ball. But the biggest reason why they had such a down year in 2024 was due to the defense really letting the team down. Here I will go into detail regarding what went wrong for the defense of the team in the failed 2024 season along with how one can expect the defense to look and perform headed into the 2025 season. Below you can find the 2024 49ers’ key defensive statistics/metrics.
San Francisco 49ers’ 2024 Key Defensive Statistics/Metrics
29th in points per game allowed
8th in yards per game allowed
15th in overall defense grade according to Pro Football Focus
As you can see from the above the 49ers really struggled on the defensive side of the ball this past season ranking in the bottom four of the league in points per game allowed which is the most important metric. However, there are some bright spots in that they ranked above average in both of the remaining two important metrics. The struggles that the 49ers saw on the defensive side of things this past season stemmed from the defensive coordinator position. Dating back to the 2019 season where this 49ers’ era of NFC dominance began which has resulted in four NFC championship game appearances and two Super Bowl appearances. The 49ers have gone through multiple defensive coordinators who were all considered to be amongst the best in the league with all having been head coaches for periods of time as well. Robert Saleh was the defensive coordinator of the team in the 2019 and 2020 seasons coordinating the elite 2019 defense that San Francisco made the Super Bowl with. When Saleh accepted a head coaching job with the New York Jets, many, including myself, stated he was eventually unjustly fired from that position. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons the 49ers’ defensive coordinator was DeMeco Ryans. Ryans led a top 10 caliber defense in his first season as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in 2021 and coordinated the league’s best defense the following season in 2022. Ryans then left to become the head coach of the Texans, which is a position he has held for two seasons in a row leading the Texans to a playoff win each year. In the 2023 season, when the 49ers made the Super Bowl again, they were coordinated on defense by former Cardinals head coach and Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks. Wilks in his first and only season as the defensive coordinator of San Francisco had the 49ers rank 3rd in the NFL in points per game allowed, 8th in yards per game allowed, and grade as the 2nd best defense in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. Despite Wilks having the 49ers’ defense produce at an elite level and ostensibly having done his job about as well as Saleh and Ryans did their jobs, Wilks was terminated after the season. The 49ers then promoted their own defensive assistant in Nick Sorensen to the defensive coordinator role. The firing of Wilks and the promotion of Sorensen at this point should be viewed as an unmitigated failure. Wilks had the 49ers’ defense in elite form and playing about as well as it has ever played in this Kyle Shanahan era of NFC dominance and that was in just his first year in the role. Whereas Sorensen had the 49ers defense produce at easily the worst level that it has produced at in this era of the Shanahan NFC dominance, ranking bottom four in the NFL in terms of points allowed. Sorensen was then terminated after the season and the 49ers have since re-appointed former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to the role. Although the defensive coaching of the team played a large role in the defense’s demise this past season, the personnel that the team had on defense also contributed to the lackluster play as well. I have conducted an analysis of the 49ers on the defensive side of the ball from the 2024 season and also headed into the 2025 season below. I have included the defense grade that each player was assigned by Pro Football Focus over the course of the 2024 season, as well as my own subjective grade of the player that indicates how strong I feel they are in totality outside of just the 2024 season. Beginning below with the front seven of the team in the 2024 season.
2024 San Francisco 49ers Front Seven Personnel
Interior Defensive Line
DL – Maliek Collins – (72/146) defense grade in 2024 over 715 snaps, C+ to B-
DL – Jordan Elliott – (117/146) defense grade in 2024 over 440 snaps, C to C-
DL – Evan Anderson – (57/146) defense grade in 2024 over 267 snaps, B- so far as ’24 UDFA
DL – Kalia Davis – (119/146) defense grade in 2024 over 259 snaps, D+ to C-
DL – Kevin Givens – (109/146) defense grade in 2024 over 185 snaps, C
DL – Javon Hargrave – (59/146) defense grade in 2024 over 104 snaps, B to B+
DL – Khalil Davis – (86/146) defense grade in 2024 over 209 snaps, C to C+
DL – T.Y McGill – (23/146) defense grade in 2024 over 23 snaps, C to C+
Edge Defenders
ED – Nick Bosa – (4/135) defense grade in 2024 over 693 snaps, A+
ED – Leonard Floyd – (118/135) defense grade in 2024 over 604 snaps, C+
ED – Sam Okuayinonu – (114/135) defense grade in 2024 over 451 snaps, C-
ED – Yetur Gross-Matos – (125/135) defense grade in 2024 over 367 snaps, C to C+
ED – Robert Beal Jr – (106/135) defense grade in 2024 over 149 snaps, C
ED – Alex Barrett – (99/135) defense grade in 2024 over 25 snaps, C
Linebackers
LB – Fred Warner – (3/92) defense grade in 2024 over 997 snaps, A+
LB – De’Vondre Campbell – (68/92) defense grade in 2024 over 719 snaps, C+ to B-
LB – Dee Winters – (42/92) defense grade in 2024 over 398 snaps, C+
LB – Demetrius Flanigan-Fowles – (92/92) defense grade in 2024 over 151 snaps, C to C+
LB – Dre Greenlaw – (7/92) defense grade in 2024 over 34 snaps, B+
LB – Tatum Bethune – (19/92) defense grade in 2024 over 52 snaps, B so far as ’24 7th rd
LB – Jalen Graham – (23/92) defense grade in 2024 over 37 snaps, B, only career snaps
LB – Dashaun White – 1 career snap as 2023 UDFA
LB – Curtis Robinson – only 1 snap in 2024, D-
2024 Key 49ers’ Front Seven Metrics
18th in rushing yards per game allowed
28th in run defense grade according to Pro Football Focus
18th in pass rush grade according to Pro Football Focus
23rd in sacks
As you can see from this final set of data as well as the personnel of the team that I outlined, the 49ers struggled in their front seven in the 2024 season. They ranked below average in all the major indicators of front seven play and outside of superstars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner in the front seven, all the remaining players left much to be desired. Javon Hargrave and Dre Greenlaw were the next two best players to Bosa and Warner in the front seven, but both struggled mightily with injuries in the 2024 season and each player hardly played. Both of those players have since departed the 49ers this offseason as well. In place of Greenlaw in the complementary role in the linebacking core, De’Vondre Campbell and Dee Winters gave the team very average production. Outside of Nick Bosa who is in the discussion for being the best edge rusher in the NFL, every single 49ers’ edge defender gave the team below average production this past season from an edge defender standpoint. The team’s interior defensive line unit struggled across the board as the 49ers saw players produce at an average to a mediocre level throughout the unit and San Francisco did not even have a superstar like Fred Warner or Nick Bosa anchoring the unit either.
Headed into next season the 49ers have made some key additions from a front seven standpoint that will help bolster the team. I question whether the changes they made will lead to the defense returning to elite form, however. In the 2023 season when the 49ers had an elite defense with strong front seven play and made the Super Bowl, the team was also led by superstars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner in their front seven. But the team had Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw, Arik Armstead, and Chase Young who all are well above average NFL players complement those two elite players in the starting front seven. Last season, Hargrave and Greenlaw hardly played for the team due to injury, while Armstead and Young had departed the team in the offseason, so the 49ers were unable to have any strong players complement Bosa and Warner in the front seven this past 2024 season. Headed into next season, the team will need players in the front seven to step up their game and complement Bosa and Warner in the front seven, especially now that Hargrave and Greenlaw have departed the team as well. The players who could potentially step up for San Francisco in that regard are 2025 first round pick Mykel Williams, 2025 third round pick Nick Martin, 2025 second round pick Alfred Collins, along with 3-4 players currently listed as reserves who have shown they are capable of high level in a smaller portion of snaps. I have my doubts as to whether or not the 49ers will get adequate support for Bosa and Warner in the front seven. As the three 2025 draftees will still just be rookies next season and the 3-4 players currently listed as reserves who have shown they can play at a high level have never shown they can play at a high level in a larger sample size of snaps. The 49ers have, however, acquired an additional front seven piece this offseason cycle in Bryce Huff who has shown he is capable of producing at a high level in a larger portion of snaps. The success the 49ers see in their front seven will be directly correlated to how much support Nick Bosa and Fred Warner will get in the front seven. The 49ers’ front seven personnel headed into the 2025 season can be found below.
San Francisco 49ers 2025 Projected Starting Front Seven
LDE – Mykel Williams – 2025 first round pick
LDT – Kevin Givens – C to C-
RDT – Jordan Elliot – D+ to C-
RDE – Nick Bosa – A+
WLB – Dee Winters – C+ to B-
MLB – Fred Warner – A+
SLB – Nick Martin – 2025 third round pick
San Francisco 49ers Projected 2025 Reserve Front Seven
ED – Yetur Gross-Matos – C to C+
DT – C.J West – 2025 4th rounder
DT – Alfred Collins – 2025 2nd rounder
ED – Sam Okuayinonu – C to C-
LB- Tatum Bethune – B+ in very limited snaps as 2024 7th rounder
LB – Jalen Graham – B in very limited snaps as 2023 7th rounder
ED – Jonathan Garvin – D+ to C-
ED – Bryce Huff – B to B+
DL – Evan Anderson – B to B- in very limited snaps as 2024 UDFA
DL – Kalia Davis – D-
ED – Robert Beal Jr – C-
LB – Chazz Surratt – B+ in very limited snaps as 2021 3rd rounder
LB – Curtis Robinson – D
DT – Sebastian Valdez – UDFA 2025
ED – Tarron Jackson – C+
LB – Stone Blanton – UDFA 2025
As you can see from the above, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa project to be superstars for the 49ers next season in the front seven, but as stated previously the support they will get in the front seven remains a question mark. Bryce Huff and the 49ers 1st and 2nd round picks in the 2025 draft currently project to provide the most support for Bosa and Warner in the front seven. While the 49ers have three players who were drafted very lowly or went undrafted in the past two drafts who have shown some promise in a smaller portion of snaps who can all potentially step up their games as well to support Bosa and Warner. This is not mentioning 2021 third round pick Chazz Surratt who has played very well in very limited snaps thus far in the NFL who the team added this offseason. Given his high draft standing and his strong play albeit in limited snaps, he too could emerge as a strong option to complement Bosa and Warner in the front seven. The 49ers in the 2023 season when they made the Super Bowl while having an elite defense had four players in Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw, Chase Young, and Arik Armstead produce in the front seven at an above average to a well above average level in support of Bosa and Warner in the front seven. The 49ers as of now have eight players who have the potential to do what those four players did in the 2023 season and it will be interesting to see if Bosa and Warner can get adequate support in the front seven next season as they have in years past. If Bosa and Warner get the front seven support that they have gotten in years past, then the 49ers’ front seven can return to the form it had in the past, when the team vied for Super Bowls. I have conducted a similar analysis of the team’s secondary headed into next season which can be found below.
2024 San Francisco 49ers’ Secondary
Cornerbacks
CB – Deommodore Lenoir – (52/128) defense grade in 2024 over 922 snaps, C+ to B-
CB – Charvarius Ward – (97/128) defense grade in 2024 over 694 snaps, B+
CB – Renardo Green – (41/128) defense grade in 2024 over 675 snaps, B so far as ’24 2nd rd
CB – Isaac Yiadom – (86/128) defense grade in 2024 over 488 snaps, C+
CB – Rock Ya-Sin – (124/128) defense grade in 2024 over 63 snaps, C+
CB – Nick McCloud – (114/128) defense grade in 2024 over C+
CB – Darrell Luther Jr – only 3 snaps in 2024, C
Safeties
S – Jiayir Brown – (52/104) defense grade in 2024 over 886 snaps, B to B+
S – Malik Mustapha – (54/104) defense grade in 2024 over 755 snaps, C+ so far as ’24 4th rd
S – Talanoa Hufanga – (79/104) defense grade in 2024 over 308 snaps, C+
S – George Odum – (29/104) defense grade in 2024 over 139 snaps, C to C+
S – Tashaun Gipson Sr – (57/104) defense grade in 2024 over 57 snaps, C+
2024 San Francisco 49ers Key Secondary Metrics
5th in passing yards per game allowed
3rd in coverage grade according to Pro Football Focus
The 49ers secondary this past season was very talented and ranked among the best secondaries in the NFL. Deommodore Lenoir, Charvarius Ward, and Renardo Green formed amongst the better cornerback trios in the NFL this past season. While the team got solid safety play as well this past season. The 49ers’ secondary production in the failed 2024 6-11 season was akin to the secondary production they got in years past when they consistently vied for Super Bowls. Headed into next season, the team has lost a few notable players but in totality I expect the 49ers to get elite secondary play next season as well. Chavarius Ward, who was one of the three primary corners for the 49ers last season but who had a down year, has departed the team this offseason. The team also lost multiple secondary players who although were reserves for the team this past season still played notable snaps. Talanoa Hufanga, Tashaun Gipson, Rock Ya-Sin, Nick McCloud, and Isaac Yiadom are the players I am referring to. Headed into next season, if the 49ers want to maintain the strong secondary play that they had this past season they will need young players to step up. Malik Mustapha who was one of the team’s two primary safeties last year had a solid rookie season in 2024. It would bode the 49ers well if he were to build off his strong rookie year. Renardo Green, who was also a rookie in the 2024 season had a very strong rookie season as a 2nd round pick playing as one of the team’s three primary corners. Green is in line to build off his strong rookie campaign and bolster the 49ers’ backend defense even more so next season. The key departure in terms of starting players in the 49ers’ secondary was cornerback Charvarius Ward. The aforementioned players in Malik Mustapha and Renardo Green, especially Green who plays at cornerback, will need to step up their game to make up for that loss. To account for losing Ward the 49ers have also since drafted another corner in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft who is also currently slated to start. Upton Stout is the player I am referring to and he is currently in line to start at the nickelback position. The loss of Ward in the secondary does not concern me so much because Ward produced at a below average level last season and the 49ers have a few young players in their back end in line to improve as well to make up for that loss. The losses of Gipson Sr, Hufanga, Ya-Sin, McCloud, and Yiadom as key secondary reserves also does not concern me as San Francisco has signed multiple players this offseason cycle capable of replicating their strong production as secondary reserves. The projected 2024 San Francisco 49ers’ secondary lineup can be found below.
2024 Projected 49ers’ Starting Secondary
LCB – Deommodore Lenoir – C+ to B-
SS – Ji’Ayir Brown – B+
FS – Malik Mustapha – C+ so far as ’24 5th rounder
RCB – Renardo Green – B so far as ’24 2nd rounder
NB – Upton Stout – 2025 third rounder
As you can see the only difference in the starting lineup in terms of the back end of the defense is Upton Stout replacing Charvarius Ward. Although Stout is just a third-round rookie and Ward has made an all-pro team and a pro bowl, Stout replacing Ward in the back end does not concern me. As Green and Mustapha will likely improve upon their rookie years to make up for any talent gap. Additionally, although Ward is very talented, he did have a down year last year, grading in the bottom 25% amongst qualified players in his position, i.e. replaceable production. Additionally, Robert Saleh is a far better defensive coordinator than Nick Sorensen was for the team last season, making up for any talent gap in the secondary from last season to next season with the loss of Ward primarily. The 49ers’ projected secondary reserves headed into next season can be found below as well.
Projected 2025 49ers Secondary Reserves
CB – Tre Brown – C
S – Richie Grant – C to C-
S – Jason Pinnock – C+
CB – Darrell Luther Jr – C to C+
CB – Siran Neal – C to C+
CB – Tre Avery – C to C+
S – George Odum – C to C+
S – Marques Sigle – 2025 5th rounder
CB – Dallis Flowers – C+ to B-
S – Derrick Canteen – UDFA 2025
CB – Chase Lucas – poor in six career snaps
S – Jaylen Mahoney – UDFA 2024
CB – Jakob Robinson – UDFA 2025
Although the 49ers’ losses that they suffered this offseason in terms of secondary reserves is indeed concerning, I feel as if the additions they made this offseason to replace the lost secondary reserves was indeed adequate. The 49ers had a top 5 elite caliber secondary this past season and there is no reason that they cannot be just as good if not better next season. From a talent standpoint they have perhaps not improved and one could even argue that they’re slightly weaker than they were this past season. But I would say that in terms of raw talent in their backend, they’re in about as good of a shape if not a better shape headed into next season than they were last season when they had a top five secondary. If there is a slight drop off in terms of talent when compared to last season, it is certainly made up for with Robert Saleh being a far better defensive coordinator than Nick Sorensen was for the 49ers last season.
The 49ers’ lackluster defense in 2024 was the primary thing that saw them go from being the class of the NFC to a 6-11 team that missed the postseason. The two biggest flaws in their defense in 2024 when compared to previous Super Bowl contending seasons when they were elite defensively, was the defensive coordinator role and the front seven talent. They have already addressed the defensive coordinator role by re-hiring former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh who as of now is in the definitive argument for being the best overall defensive coordinator in the NFL. With regards to the front seven personnel, the 49ers have added several players this offseason with high end capabilities who hopefully for their sake will have the front seven perform at the required level. I am banking on the 49ers’ defense returning to elite form next season with the front seven personnel that was added and with the hire of Saleh. If the 49ers’ defense can return to the elite form it had in previous seasons which I think will occur, there is no reason that San Francisco cannot return to being a title contending team next year.
