The San Francisco 49ers are still considered to be a young team. They do, however, have a veteran presence here and there. The defensive backs have Richard Sherman. The defensive line added Dee Ford. Kwon Alexander joined the linebackers. And that's just on defense.
Those veterans can share with the younger players what to expect from more experienced opponents. That information is invaluable for a developing player. In the case of someone like Sherman, the veteran leadership can also share what it is like to earn a championship and what it takes to get there.
Third-year defensive tackle D.J. Jones joined KNBR on Friday night and shared what it means for the younger players on the roster to have that experience in meeting rooms and on the field.
"I feel like we need that influence," Jones told Mark Willard. "We need guys like Richard Sherman coming into the locker room and telling us what's going to come because he's seen it before. Guys like Kwon Alexander; he's been in the league for some years.
"In each room, we have a guy with experience, who's been in the league for a while. I feel like that's going to bring another edge to this team. We're not all young and just think we know it all, but we have somebody there to tell us how it is. I feel like we can all feed off that."
The 49ers defense has a lot of room for improvement. The team ranked last in the NFL in creating turnovers last year. It was so bad, in fact, that the unit set an NFL record for the fewest in a single season with just seven, four fewer than the previous record. That included a league-low two interceptions, also a new NFL record for the fewest in a single season.
To remedy the situation, the 49ers went out and added guys like Ford and rookie Nick Bosa to beef-up the defensive front. The added pressure on the edge should allow interior players like Jones and fellow defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to flourish, which will also help the defensive backs feed off of any bad decisions by quarterbacks under duress.
"It's embarrassing," Jones said of the record-low turnovers last season. "Last year, that stat, it was embarrassing. We didn't play terrible defense but just not getting turnovers is kind of embarrassing. It's kind of our main focus right now — making turnovers, just being dominant, and attacking the ball."
The 49ers kick off the preseason tonight when the team hosts the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Jones below.