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Did the 49ers Defense Take a Step Back this Offseason?

The 49ers defense has so much to prove.

Grant Cohn

Nov 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (left) talks with defensive end Nick Bosa (right) during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (left) talks with defensive end Nick Bosa (right) during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
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The 49ers defense took a significant step backward last year. Did it take another one this year?

In 2022, the 49ers had the no. 1 defense in the NFL. They gave up the fewest points and the fewest yards. They were the best. Then in 2023, they lost defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, safety Jimmie Ward, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, defensive end Samson Ebukam, defensive end Charles Omenihu and defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway, and the defense suffered.

Sure, the 49ers also added Javon Hargrave in 2023, but he made minimal impact as the 49ers defense gave up the third-fewest points and the eighth-fewest yards.

This offseason, the 49ers released Arik Armstead, who promptly signed a lucrative multi-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 49ers also are waiting for Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga to return from offseason surgeries. And they have a rookie defensive coordinator -- Nick Sorensen.

And yes, the 49ers added veterans Maliek Collins, Leonard Floyd and De'Vondre Campbell, but those three are older players on the down side of their careers. None of them are getting better.

On paper, the 49ers defense absolutely took a step backward this offseason simply by getting older. To take a step forward, certain young players will have to exceed expectations.

At safety, Hufanga will have to make a full recovery and Ji'Ayir Brown will have to make a big impact in his first full season as a starter. At cornerback, Deommodore Lenoir will have to take another leap. And the defensive coordinator has to show he's ready for the job. Because if he's not, he could get replaced at the bye week by assistant head coach Brandon Staley.

The 49ers defense has so much to prove.

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Grant Cohn
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.

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