With the 49ers’ 53-man roster mostly settled, it’s time to look at what their depth chart might look like heading into their Week 1 showdown with the Steelers. Now we can jump over to the defensive side after projecting the offensive depth chart.
The 49ers defense would have largely the same group of starters as last year save for some major changes on the defensive front.
Inserting Javon Hargrave into the middle of the defensive line gives San Francisco a new, game-wrecking force atop their depth chart. It also put the team in a place financially where they had to let DLs Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu walk in free agency.
Ebukam and Omenihu’s exits left the 49ers thin on the edges, and that’s continued to be exacerbated by an extended holdout by DE Nick Bosa. Bosa is still in the midst of a contract negotiation and hasn’t reported to the team. He’s on the reserve/did not report list with a week to go before the season opener.
With a thin defensive end group and no Bosa at the top for now, we tried to project what San Francisco’s defensive depth chart will look like for Week 1: