Defensive end Austin Bryant joined the San Francisco 49ers in March after four seasons with the Detroit Lions. He is now part of what many consider one of the best defensive units in football. It was the No. 1 ranked defense last season, and it's unlikely there will be a significant drop-off in 2023.
What attracted Bryant to the 49ers in free agency?
"What D-lineman wouldn't want to play here?" Bryant responded. "You see how them guys play? [There are] a lot of teams around the league try to emulate what they do here, and I've been a part of a situation that tried to do that, but there's nothing like being here with the coaches that put it into action every Sunday. And to see how it all works together, and how it works, has been really fun to do, really fun to be a part of thus far."
Bryant added, "You look at a team like San Francisco the past three, four years, they've been at the top of every pass-rush statistic, so they got to be doing something right. So it was very enticing to come here, play with Coach [Kris] Kocurek and the guys they have in that position room."
Safety Tashaun Gipson recently said the 49ers defense has "gold-jacket players in every level." That abundance of talent doesn't mean automatic success, though. The team knows it still needs to work hard to contend this season.
"We got some talented guys, but Rome [was] not built in a day," Bryant said. "If we really want to be where we want to go, we got to put in the work every single day we go out there. Just because we're talented on paper don't mean we're just going to show up on Sunday and kick everybody's ass. It doesn't work like that in this league. You got to show up day in and day out, put the work in, and that's what we're doing. We're stacking days and trying to get better each day and become a unit, not just a D-line."
The 49ers are transitioning from defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, now the Houston Texans head coach, to Steve Wilks. Wilks admits that he has an aggressive personality when it comes to coaching his defense but won't rely entirely on that during game days.
"But I think you have to be selective when you do certain things, whether it's throughout the game or each week," Wilks added in June. "But I don't want to be a defense that's going to sit back and react to the offense. I want to be aggressive and have those guys react to us and sort of dictate the momentum of the game."
One important piece of that 49ers defense is pass rusher Nick Bosa, who is holding out as he awaits a new contract. Bryant says he hasn't met Bosa yet, but knows the player's reputation.
"Ferocious guy coming off the edge, very technical, plays hard every single snap," Bryant said of the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. "I can't wait until he gets back so I can learn from him and play alongside him. I'm sure everybody in the league would love to do that."