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The San Francisco 49ers have suffered some devastating losses along the defensive line. The team entered the season with Ronald Blair and Jullian Taylor on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list.
Then, in Week 2, the 49ers were devastated by injuries. Along the defensive line, the team lost former first-round picks Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas to season-ending injuries in the span of three plays.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan sees a bright side, though. The losses have allowed others to step up until reinforcements like Blair and Taylor return. One of those players is 10th-year defensive end Kerry Hyder Jr., a favorite of defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. The two previously worked together with the Detroit Lions.
"So, Kerry, Kocurek's been talking about him forever," defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said in August. "I would equate the man-crush I have on Ronnie Blair to Kocurek's man-crush with Kerry. Not to say that Kocurek doesn't love all his D-Linemen, but Kerry is a very reliable, not at grunt work, but he will get dirty. He'll get grimy. He can rush the passer. He can do a lot of different things. You can ask him to do a lot of different things."
Those words from Saleh came during training camp. You can also count head coach Kyle Shanahan among those who were impressed by Hyder over the summer. According to Pro Football Reference, the defensive lineman has since racked up 14 tackles, two sacks, and six quarterback hits through three games.
"He's been impressive since the first day he got here," Shanahan told NBC Sports this week. "If I gave out awards for (training) camp MVPs, he definitely would have been up there. He looked like that in practice every day. Not a huge name and stuff, so got a lot of people (who) don't know a lot about him coming in. But we noticed him right away in practice, just the plays he was making and stuff.
"You wonder if it's just practice or what it is, then he's carried it over three weeks in a row in the games. It's helped us out a ton. Especially with the injuries we've had in the last three weeks."
San Francisco signed Hyder to a one-year deal in March. He has been filling in for Blair's role and a whole lot more because of the injuries suffered.
"Just coming into the season, knowing we weren't going to get Ronald Blair, keeping him on PUP, [Hyder] kind of plays a similar role we were looking into," Shanahan continued. "And that's had to come way up to some starter roles at times with the losses and everything. That's kind of how Ronnie was for us at times.
"Now we've got Kerry here doing the same thing, and it's really helped us, and we definitely need it because we have lost guys, and it's very important out D-line plays at a high level."
49ers express pre-draft interest in Oklahoma D-lineman Jonah Laulu
By David Bonilla
Apr 7
Justin Melo of The Draft Network reports that the San Francisco 49ers expressed interest in Jonah Laulu, meeting with the defensive lineman at Oklahoma's pro day on March 12.
Melo notes that Laulu is versatile enough to play defensive end or defensive tackle on an NFL defense, making him an intriguing prospect for the 49ers, who value players who can fill multiple roles.
.@OU_Football DL Jonah Laulu is versatile enough to play as a base DE or within the interior.Former Hawaii transfer, Laulu met with
49ers expressing pre-draft interest in North Carolina State D-lineman Savion Jackson
By David Bonilla
Apr 10
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the San Francisco 49ers are among several teams that have shown interest in former North Carolina State defensive lineman Savion Jackson.
In a social media post, Wilson noted, "Scouting reports praise him for heavy hands, being stout run-stopper."
North Carolina State @PackFootball defensive lineman Savion Jackson had 30 visit with #Chargers, Zoom meeting
Ctrl+Z: 4 key decisions 49ers might "undo" if given the chance
By Marc Adams
Apr 6
No one is perfect. Each of us makes mistakes. I do for sure. Peruse your way through the many articles I've written for 49ers Webzone and you'll see plenty of mistakes. Whether it's a typo or some prediction I offered that didn't go as I had thought.
The San Francisco 49ers are no different. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have made their share of mistakes. Fortunately for all of us, they hit on more than they miss. But I wonder if we were able to catch them in a moment of complete transparency if they might admit to wanting to hit the Ctrl+Z and "undo" some moves.
I doubt they will admit to such mistakes anytime soon, but fear not—I'm here to do it for them. Yes, I could write on the best decisions
49ers insider believes team may prefer WR Brandon Aiyuk play on fifth-year option
By Marc Adams
Apr 6
The San Francisco 49ers don't always do things like other NFL teams do. But they are consistent, for the most part. Seemingly every offseason, especially in recent years, a star player has wanted a new contract. From TE George Kittle and LB Fred Warner to WR Deebo Samuel and Edge Nick Bosa, the 49ers have given new contracts, but they have waited until late July-early August (and in Bosa's case—September) to do so, much to the chagrin of those players, who wanted their new deal sooner rather than later.
It may not have happened as soon as the players wanted it to, but it has happened. Kittle's contract talks reportedly weren't as smooth as he might have hoped, Samuel famously scrubbed his social media accounts of all things 49ers, and Bosa didn't sign until a few days
