Just 25 days after acquiring Randy Gregory, the San Francisco 49ers bolstered their pass-rushing unit by adding Chase Young. It was a bold move following a recent three-game skid; one the 49ers hope pays dividends for the remainder of the season.
General manager John Lynch acknowledged that bringing in Young provided an immediate boost for the team, with players telling him, "That lifted up the locker room. We're excited."
While Lynch maintains that the 49ers weren't desperate to acquire Young and that he won't single-handedly fix the team's recent struggles, it might be enough to get San Francisco out of its "funk."
"I was surprised," Gregory remarked this week about San Francisco's latest addition. "I mean, I know there was talk about possibly adding some more players to the mix, and obviously we're in win-now mode. We went big and [hope to] get back on the right side of things with the season and see how long we go into the year.
"So I was excited when we [got] him. I've been a big fan of him since he was playing in college. A lot of these guys, I've been watching for years and they may not even know that. And I've always prided myself being a fan before a player, so anytime you can get a guy like that on the team, it's a big deal."
Gregory provided a scouting report on his new teammate, saying, "Explosive athlete, does a lot of things well. There's a reason why he's the player he is. Gets after the quarterback, all the things we look for on the D-line, so excited to have him. Young guy, a lot of talent, a sponge. He's out there trying to learn the details of the new position and things like that, so it's fun to have him out there."
Gregory expressed confidence that Young has adapted well to the coaching since joining the team and should have no trouble fitting into the new defensive scheme.
"Everything he does is how we want to play football on this D-line, so he'll be able to jump right in," Gregory affirmed.
