Which Defensive Player on the 49ers Faces the Most Pressure in 2023?

Going into the 2023 season, there is one 49ers player where the pressure they face surpasses that of the star players and can potentially overwhelm them.

Pressure is on the shoulders of every player whether they are a star or a role player.

No player on the defensive side of the ball for the 49ers faces more pressure than Nick Bosa. He has to be producing on a weekly basis and make an impact, or else criticism will be placed on him. The same goes for Fred Warner and the rest of the defensive stars. But going into the 2023 season, there is one player where the pressure they face surpasses that of the star players and can potentially overwhelm them. 

So, which defensive player on the 49ers faces the most pressure in 2023?

By far it is defensive end Drake Jackson. The 49ers didn't glance at any quality pass rushers in free agency because they are banking on Jackson to be a hit this year. From Kyle Shanahan to Steve Wilks, there has been so many fairly hyped up comments regarding the improvement of Jackson so far and the expectations that they have of him going into 2023. The pressure was already extremely high for Jackson without those comments, but now they have made it insurmountable. 

Quite the bold move from the 49ers to put all their chips on Jackson, but they have belief that he can follow up and improve on the areas he needs to work on. There is definitely a risk here that the 49ers are operating under with Jackson. If he doesn't pan out, then who can they turn to step up? The 49ers will be forced to look at Clelin Ferrell or rookie Robert Beal Jr. Should that happen, then the 49ers will basically have no one remotely efficient opposite of Nick Bosa. 

Of course, the 49ers could always sign a veteran pass rusher in free agency. There are still some capable players in that pool such as a Yannick Ngakoue, but that would be more of a band aid temporary fix than a bigger picture fix. For Jackson to be a key player, he needs to put it all together this year. He's added significant muscle weight, while maintaining the great speed and explosiveness that the 49ers fell in love with. All that is left for him is to prove how better he's gotten when the pads get put on.

The thing is, the 49ers won't really know how improved Jackson is until the season starts and plays out. The main issue that they had with Jackson last year was that he wore down as the season went on and was rendered inefficient. It's why they ended up making him a healthy scratch toward the end of the season, so Jackson could look good early and pass all the tests, but the 49ers won't really know if he has improved his main weakness from last year until the season rolls along.

By that time, it might be too late to find any adequate replacement in free agency. A trade will most likely be the move the 49ers make as they have done so in the pass for a defensive lineman in the middle of the season. The pressure is on immensely for Jackson. If he can get past that and turn out to be a solid complimentary pass rusher opposite Bosa, then the 49ers will have their best defensive line since 2019 when they went to the Super Bowl.