The Main Problem with the 49ers Run Defense

The answer isn't so simple.

Grant Cohn | Oct 20, 2023

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers run defense ranked 2nd out of 32 teams in yards per attempt allowed last season. Now it ranks 15th. What's the problem?

The answer isn't so simple. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw missed the 49ers' loss to the Browns this past Sunday, which is a big reason Cleveland rushed for 160 yards. But the run defense has been an issue all season. Certainly compared to how dominant it was last season under defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

His departure to become the head coach of the Houston Texans certainly has had an impact on the 49ers run defense. New 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has been playing seven defenders in the box instead of eight, which has hurt the 49ers' numbers against the run.

But the biggest problem with the 49ers run defense has been the defensive ends -- Clelin Ferrell, Drake Jackson and yes, even Nick Bosa. They haven't been setting edges effectively. As a result, the Browns running backs gained lots of yards around the perimeter against the 49ers.

"Teams are going to copy each other in this league," Bosa said, "so we need to put out those plays when we can. We didn't last week, and that's what happens when you don't set an edge to a defense."

The last two seasons, the 49ers starting defensive end opposite Bosa was Samson Ebukam, who's an elite run defender. DeMeco Ryans always said Ebukam was the best edge setter on the 49ers. Now, Ebukam is on the Colts, and his replacement, Clelin Ferrell, isn't nearly as good.

Perhaps Randy Gregory can pick up the slack once he learns the 49ers scheme.

Published Oct 20, 2023

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.