LAS VEGAS — The San Francisco 49ers‘ defense was already elite at midseason, but the team wasn’t afraid to add several veteran pieces as the year progressed.
San Francisco acquired pass rusher Randy Gregory from the Denver Broncos on Oct. 6. A month later, Kyle Shanahan’s squad brought another defensive end into the mix by trading for the Washington Commanders’ Chase Young.
After All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga tore his ACL in December, the 49ers signed fellow defensive back Logan Ryan, who’d been sitting at home after failing to land a contract for the 2023 campaign.
How did San Francisco get these new additions to mesh with its existing talent base on defense?
How the 49ers Inserted Veteran Defenders at Midseason
“Practice. Repetition,” Young said on Tuesday, listing off the keys in the 49ers’ initiation process.
“(Defensive line) coach (Kris) Kocurek got me onboarded pretty fast. It’s definitely just a testament to Coach Kocurek, day in and day out, just coaching me hard on my technique and the fine details.”
The 49ers shipped a third-round pick to the Commanders in exchange for Young, who won the NFL’s 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year award after being selected second overall in that year’s draft. Young posted 2.5 sacks and six quarterback hits in nine regular-season games in San Francisco.
Young was hardly the only 49er to speak Kocurek’s praises on Tuesday. Javon Hargrave, who signed a four-year, $81 million contract during the 2023 offseason, has a bit more experience than Young, but not much. Still, Hargrave has already seen how San Francisco acclimatizes new players.
“It’s real easy when you have somebody like Kris Kocurek,” Hargrave said.
“Like you’re gonna get it, or you’re gonna hear it every day. So when you hear somebody like Kris talking to you, even for me when I came to camp, you’re gonna get it real quick because you gonna hear it every second.
What makes Kocurek the best defensive line coach in the NFL?
“It’s his passion,” Hargrave said. “Man, he’s very passionate, and it doesn’t matter if you’re … somebody like Nick Bosa. (I was thinking) he won’t get coached, or they won’t say nothing to Nick, but no — (Kocurek is) on everybody the same way.”
Hargrave finished the season with seven sacks and 58 pressures (11th among defensive tackles). Clark’s effect was more muted after he joined the 49ers, but he still played a role, seeing action on 35% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps.
The 49ers’ veteran additions extended to the secondary. Safety Tashaun Gipson was nearly out of the league heading into the 2022 campaign before signing with San Francisco’s practice squad in August. He was promoted in September and has since started 33 games over two years.
Ryan didn’t find a job after finishing the 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the 49ers needed him after losing Hufanga. Ryan started over rookie safety Ji’Ayir Brown until the NFC Championship Game when Brown regained his No. 1 role.
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However, Brown struggled against the Detroit Lions in that contest. He allowed four receptions on seven targets in his coverage area and failed to slow down Lions wideout Jameson Williams on a 42-yard first-quarter TD run.
Could Ryan be called upon in Super Bowl 58? Maybe. And if the 49ers’ history is any indication, he’ll be more than ready.
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