San Francisco 49ers beat writer, Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee, joined the latest No Huddle Podcast episode to discuss all things Niners. One area of concern heading into the season is the 49ers' lack of a pass rush, which has been a storyline all offseason.
The 49ers passed on addressing the position during the draft. They did, however, re-signed defensive end Cassius Marsh and brought in Jeremiah Attaochu. Can they be effective on the edge or will defensive coordinator Robert Saleh continue to experiment with DeForest Buckner there?
"To be honest, I haven't seen any indication that [Marsh and Attaochu] are going to be reliable and be impactful enough to make [the] difference that [the 49ers] need," Biderman told podcast host Al Sacco this week. "I'm starting to think, based on what we've seen from Sheldon Day and D.J. Jones — and obviously DeForest Buckner is going to be fine. I wonder if Sheldon Day is going to allow them to play DeForest Buckner on the edge more because Sheldon Day plays 3-technique and he's been the one spelling DeForest Buckner with the second-team in practice or when Buckner gets a blow here and there.
"I personally think DeForest Buckner is their best edge rusher at the moment. That's a credit to Buckner, but that's also an indictment of those guys you mentioned — Marsh and Attaochu.
"So you wonder if the Niners go into the season with a third-down package where Sheldon Day is on the field because he does pretty well at pushing the pocket from the inside. It adds another advantage because you can move DeForest Buckner to the edge and maybe he turns into that Calais Campbell-type player this year."
Saleh still seems confident that the pass rush will eventually work itself out. That hasn't stopped the 49ers from moving guys, like Buckner, around in an effort to find the right mix of players and generate more pressure.
"The Jaguars got a ton of production from Calais Campbell after moving him to the edge, and obviously people make that comparison just based on their size and their skillset," Biderman continued. "I think they're very similar players and so it's something they have been tinkering with. I know they have been tinkering with it in dime packages. They've had Solomon Thomas line up inside. They've gone with a three-down lineman look with Buckner at one edge, Thomas on the inside, and then one of their pass rushers on the other side."
Not only is Biderman unsure of Attaochu's ability to generate pressure, but he's also not even sure the pass rusher will make the 53-man roster.
"Houston has one of the worst offensive lines in the league and Attaochu really didn't do a whole lot against their backups," Biderman added.
You can listen to the latest No Huddle Podcast episode below, from our dedicated podcast page, on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud.
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