SI's Albert Breer Says 49ers Defense is Less Top Heavy Than Last Year

When Arik Armstead went down with another injury, the 49ers' defense became extremely thin.

May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen holds a press conference before the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers' defense was extremely top-heavy last season.

They had Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead, Fred Warner and Charvarius Ward making big money. Then they had cheap, subpar starters at defensive end (Clelin Ferrell), strongside linebacker (Oren Burks) and nickleback (Isaiah Oliver). And they were stuck with those players because they signed Hargrave and had to let lots of role players leave.

Then when Arik Armstead went down with another injury, the 49ers' defense became extremely thin.

So the 49ers released Armstead this offseason and signed four defensive linemen. Now, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer believes the 49ers have regained their depth.

"The key pieces in San Francisco’s group haven’t changed much in a while," writes Breer. "It’s Nick Bosa up front, Fred Warner on the second level and Charvarius Ward in the secondary. The challenge has been—with all those guys getting paid on second contracts—to hit on enough picks and bargains around them to guard against a top-heavy balance sheet creating holes elsewhere.

"There’s optimism going into the summer that the Niners are as good in that department this year as they’ve been before. And it starts with DL coach Kris Kocurek’s line. The Niners’ ninja of a position coach there has long brought in older vets, or reclamation projects, and maximized them. This year, with a lot of turnover in the group spearheaded by Bosa and 2023 free-agent signing Javon Hargrave, that led to the offloading of Arik Arsmtead and the addition of four vets the team hopes will make for a more balanced group.

"Maliek Collins came from the Houston Texans, Yetur Gross-Matos from the Carolina Panthers, Leonard Floyd from the Buffalo Bills and Jordan Elliott from the Cleveland Browns on two-year deals for a total of about $63.5 million—or an average of just under $32 million per year. Armstead alone was making $17 million per. All have talent, having come in the league as first-, second- or third-round picks. All have track records. All had good springs.

"And the real key is that all of them will be asked to do a little less because they have Bosa and Hargrave alongside them.

"Meanwhile, at corner, San Francisco brought in another former top-100 pick in Isaac Yiadom, who has 28 career starts and had a bounceback year in 2023 for the New Orleans Saints, for just $3 million. And, after OTAs and minicamp, they’re optimistic they hit on Renardo Green, their late-second-round pick who played both safety and corner at Florida State.

"Are these guys going to emerge as superstars in the fall? No. But in the place the Niners are right now, with so many mouths financially fed (plus Brandon Aiyuk next in line and Brock Purdy’s first chance to cash in looming a year from now), these are the areas teams such as San Francisco has to win to make the leap from contender to champion."

With all due respect to Breer, I don't think the 49ers' various offseason moves will put them over the hump because their roster isn't the issue. They had the best roster in the NFL last year. The problem is that every time they reach the Super Bowl, Kyle Shanahan gets severely outcoached by Andy Reid.

The only way for the 49ers to get over the hump is for Shanahan to improve.