San Francisco 49ers: DE Dee Ford
In March, the 49ers gave Ford a five-year, $85 million contract with $20.5 million fully guaranteed and $45 million in injury protection after Ford led all edge defenders with 83 total pressures with the Chiefs in 2018. With that and the second overall selection of Nick Bosa in the 2019 draft, the reformation of San Francisco’s pass rush was complete. And when Ford and Bosa were on the field at the same time, it was very hard for opposing offenses to deal with. But Ford has missed all but four defensive snaps since Week 11 with a hamstring injury, and the 49ers’ pass rush has gone downhill in his absence.
Per NFL Research, San Francisco had a pressure rate of 36.3% with Ford, and 22.7% without. The 49ers had a sack rate of 16.3% with him, and 5.4% without. Their touchdown-to-interception ratio went from 3/4 to 20/8. The ability of Robert Saleh’s defense to get pressure without blitzing has been greatly affected by Ford’s absence, as has Bosa’s pressure production. The defense has also been racked by injuries to linebacker Kwon Alexander and safety Jaquiski Tartt, and the defense’s overall effectiveness has dropped to disturbing levels of normalcy.
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It is estimated that Ford, Alexander, and Tartt will all return for San Francisco’s divisional round tilt with the Vikings, and that would be huge news for a defense that can’t afford any more backslides.
What makes Ford so dangerous around the edge is a speed that most offensive tackles just can’t deal with. Here, Ford (No. 55) orbits Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein and causes a Jared Goff fumble that Havenstein has to scramble to recover. Minnesota’s vulnerable offensive line should expect similar challenges.
Danielle Hunter | Dee Ford | Harold Landry III | Matthew Judon |
Duke Johnson, Jr. | Charvarius Ward | Poona Ford | Kenny Clark