San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined KNBR this morning and was asked about his deep defensive line. Of course, that line, along with the rest of the roster, suffered several injuries last season. As a result, the depth really took a hit and contributed to the team's 6-10 season.
Lynch was asked if there are any concerns about his defensive line depth this year, and his answer is an instant classic.
"I have concerns about the health of everyone else on opposing teams when they're playing [us]," Lynch responded.
Lynch, a former NFL safety, knows better than most the importance of a strong defensive front. He and the 49ers like their depth as the team prepare to embark on its 2021 campaign. Pass rushers Nick Bosa and Dee Ford are expected to return after missing most of last season due to injuries. But the team has also added to its depth with additions like Samson Ebukam and Zach Kerr.
"This is very reminiscent of [the 2019 defensive front], to me," Lynch continued. "We're strong at the front line, and Nick has looked great in his return. [Javon] Kinlaw came back this week in practice and has looked really good. But we're also extremely deep at that position and believe me, we're taking a lot of calls because people are interested in some of our depth. But we're hanging on to it because we want to be a group -- we want to be strong there.
"And not only on the front line. We want to come at them in waves. And those guys' job is to wreak havoc. ... We've got a whole mentality there to just get after people, and those guys, I believe we're going to have the group to do that this year."
Lynch, when asked if the solid depth allows the 49ers to deal from a position of strength when teams come calling, responded, "Yeah, we can but, like I said, I think we're going to be a little greedy there and I think all those guys -- it's nice to have guys in the bullpen there. We want closers, and setup guys, and all that stuff, to make a baseball analogy. We want that all at our disposal, and I don't think you can have enough good players at that position."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
