Well, this isn’t good news for San Francisco 49ers fans.
The Niners have been known for having great defenses in their recent deep runs in the NFL playoffs. That defensive effort has been fueled by stout play from the defensive line.
They will still likely be very good at EDGE rusher, with superstar Nick Bosa, promising first round rookie Mykel Williams and trade acquisition Bryce Huff, as well as a lot of depth at the position.
But the 49ers have a lot of question marks at defensive tackle. So much so that ESPN is sounding the alarm.
In an article titled, “Ranking 2025 NFL rosters: Best projected starting lineups”, ESPN listed the 49ers’ defensive tackle unit as the team’s biggest weakness.
Not only that, but ESPN called the 49ers defensive tackles “the worst in the league.”
“The Niners figure to add more help and/or move Yetur Gross-Matos and Sam Okuayinonu inside more often,” expert NFL analyst Mike Clay wrote.
Who Do the Niners Have At Defensive Tackle?
The 49ers’ problems at DT start with the fact that they lost so many key contributors this offseason.
Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins both departed in free agency. Hargrave was a Pro Bowler with San Francisco in 2023 and Collins started all 17 games for San Francisco in 2024. These are two massive losses for the 49ers.
And the only players the 49ers brought in to replace them are unproven draft picks. They brought in Alfred Collins with the 43rd overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft, and CJ West with the 113th overall pick in the fourth round of the draft.
The good news is, Collins just finally signed his rookie contract on Thursday July 17, 2025. The bad news is that it took this long for Collins to sign his rookie contract. So Collins has lost valuable development time in San Francisco, especially for someone the 49ers expect to step in and be a starter immediately.
It seems like the 49ers need to pursue an upgrade at DT or move some of their EDGE rushers inside like Clay suggested.
Clay Doesn’t Like the 49ers Secondary Either
In that same ESPN article, Clay said he almost picked the 49ers secondary as its biggest weakness over the DT unit.
Which is significant, because Clay thinks the 49ers have the worst DTs in the league. What does that say about their secondary?
It says that it’s also full of inexperienced and unproven players. Besides Deommodore Lenoir, the 49ers are facing a lot of question marks in their cornerback unit this year. Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha are two solid safeties for San Francisco, but they have injury questions.
Again, the 49ers are holding out hope that young players like Renardo Green and Upton Stout stand up. But that’s a big if.
Bringing back defensive coordinator Robert Saleh should inspire some hope for the 49ers that their young talent will develop.
What do you think, 49ers fans? Will the 49ers surprise people and have good defensive tackles and a good secondary this season?
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post San Francisco 49ers Called “Worst in the NFL” At This Key Position appeared first on Heavy Sports.