Former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Ian Williams, who is now an analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area and a regular media attendee for Niners games, spent some time with the team observing its workouts during organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, recently.
And after watching what San Francisco's new defensive line coach, Kris Kocurek, was doing with this unit, Williams feels as if the difference will be felt late in games.
Williams appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco's 49ers Insider Podcast and explained the kind of difference Kocurek was making on the 49ers defensive line.
"He's yelling at them so that in the moment in the game when it's third down, fourth down, and toward the end of the game, you got his voice in the back of your head literally every rep," said Williams. "He's yelling at them to, 'Get off the ball; get off the ball,' at the top of his lungs. I don't know if he's going to have a voice in 10 years, but he's going to be a hell of a coach for these boys for the next few years."
San Francisco experienced some trouble closing out games last season, and a lot of that could be attributed to the lack of a pass rush. The 49ers finished 2018 with 37 sacks, which was tied for 22nd in the league. And while defensive tackle DeForest Buckner managed 12 of his own last year -- a career high -- the Niners generally struggled to get adequate pressure on opponents' quarterbacks.
Especially late in games.
In addition to Kocurek, the Niners also brought aboard former Kansas City Chiefs EDGE Dee Ford through a trade, then added Ohio State's Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft. Combined with Buckner, Arik Armstead and Solomon Thomas up front, the 49ers now have five first-round draftees at their disposal.
"They're in prime position to showcase their talents," Williams continued. "Solomon and Arik, they went in the first round for a reason."
Kocurek is also implementing a wide-9 defensive alignment, which will put the strong-side edge on the outside shoulder of the inline tight end. This slight tweak is meant to take advantage of a pass-rusher's speed around the edge, hopefully opening up more opportunities to collapse the pocket from the outside. In turn, Buckner's prowess could be maximized, even just with Ford's presence next to him on the weak side.
You can check out all of Maiocco's podcast with Williams below: