49ers’ defense counting on disappointing Aaron Lynch to rush passer
49ers’ defense counting on disappointing Aaron Lynch to rush passer
Because 2-14 teams can’t address all their problem areas in one offseason, the 49ers might rely on a player with a track record of unreliability to play a vital spot in 2017.
The position: the so-called “Leo” end in their 4-3 defense, which is reserved for the team’s most ferocious pass rusher.
In 2016, Lynch said he weighed around 300 pounds in training camp before he served a season-opening, four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy.
The 49ers didn’t sign a player with more than nine career sacks in free agency, and they didn’t draft a legitimate “Leo” until the sixth round, Utah’s Pita Taumoepenu.
Besides Lynch, the candidates include Ahmad Brooks, Eli Harold and Arik Armstead, who, at 6-foot-7 and 292 pounds, is considerably larger than a classic Leo.
Harold, a 2015 third-round pick, has three sacks in two seasons.
Moments after Lynch was selected, his strength and conditioning coach at South Florida suggested, via Twitter, that the pick proved the 49ers didn’t value integrity and character.
After his suspension, he missed five games with a sprained ankle.
His lost season, however, didn’t inspire him to report to the offseason program near his playing weight.
At the moment, however, he probably needs to drop weight before the 49ers can gauge whether he’s their best candidate to drop quarterbacks.