The San Francisco 49ers boast five former first-round picks along their defensive front. The team drafted Arik Armstead in 2015, Deforest Buckner in 2016, Solomon Thomas in 2017, Nick Bosa this past April, and traded a second-round pick in next year's draft to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for Dee Ford. That is a significant investment along the defensive front, and the 49ers hope it starts paying off this season.
Buckner had a career-high 12 sacks last season. Ford topped that with a career-high 13. Bosa racked up 17.5 in just over two seasons with the Buckeyes. The 49ers need the defensive line to "wreak havoc on the league," as general manager John Lynch recently put it.
One former NFL defensive tackle, Andre Fluellen, believes it's time for the 49ers' defensive line to step up and start taking over games.
"I think if they're not top-five, possibly even top-three defensive lines in the NFL, it is a disappointment," Fluellen told Lindsay Rhodes on NFL Network's NFL Total Access. "A big disappointment. Just too much talent, too much firepower. You've got Nick Bosa. You've got Dee Ford; he had 13 sacks. Then you've got DeForest Buckner in the middle. I'm just telling you they have so many weapons."
Fluellen went on to identify one individual who will make the most significant impact this season, new defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, who he played for while with the Detroit Lions. Fluellen believes the 49ers now have too much talent along the edges, and the defense utilizing the wide-nine will only cause more problems for opposing offensive lines.
"Too much firepower at the edge," Fluellen continued. "Top-five, possibly top-three defensive lines in the NFL."
Fluellen also believes that rookie defensive end Nick Bosa will "hit the ground running" this season. He wasn't a fan of Bosa's older brother, Joey in Los Angeles, when he came out of college and promised himself that he would never make that mistake again.
"I really think that coming out of the gate, he's going to come out and do a phenomenal job, especially since he has such good weapons around him, such good coaching," Fluellen said. "I really think he's going to come out hot."