The play of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo over the final weeks of the 2017 season has created a lot of optimism about the 49ers’s hopes for this season, but neither a quarterback nor an offense alone can carry a team to success.
One thing that would help on the defensive side of the ball is a more productive pass rush. The 49ers were tied for 26th in the league with 30 sacks last season and they didn’t exercise their contract option to keep Elvis Dumervil, who led the team with 6.5 sacks.
New arrival Jeremiah Attaochu has 10 sacks over his four NFL seasons and fourth-round pick Kentavius Street tore his ACL at his pro day, so it will be up to many of the same characters from last season. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is confident that defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina and pass rush specialist Chris Kiffin can boost their productivity.
“They’ve identified some stuff that’s going to be a cool dynamic,” Saleh said, via the team’s website. “I think we’re going to be much further along pass rush wise.”
The 49ers have spent a lot of recent draft capital on the defensive line -- Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Solomon Thomas were first-round picks from 2015 to 2017 -- and they’re going to need those decisions to pay off for Saleh’s prediction to come true this season.