Sourdough Sam
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- Mar 20, 2019
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"Dee is known for, I think, having the best first step in football coming off the edge," Lynch said. "All of a sudden you have a tackle who doesn't feel so good about hanging in and helping (block) DeForest."
Now one could argue that the 49ers have too much personnel on the defensive line. Ford and Buckner will obviously have set roles. But, it could be a challenge to find enough reps for guys like Armstead and Thomas, especially if the team adds someone like Nick Bosa, Josh Allen or Quinnen Williams in the draft. That's before even mentioning D.J. Jones, Ronald Blair, Kentavius Street and the other players who are already in house.
Lynch made it clear that he isn't worried about any potential bottleneck.
"You've got to have a quarterback, and you've got to have the guys to knock him down," Lynch said. "Some people want to think that's one guy. For us, it's always been collective.
"I would say there's enough snaps to go around."
The best way to navigate the surplus in defensive linemen is to figure out what each player does best and deploy them accordingly. There's also arguably enough talent already on the roster to give San Francisco the flexibility to trade out of the No. 2 pick in order to acquire more draft capital. The 49ers currently only own six selections in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Regardless, there's no avoiding what will be a vigorous competition for playing time during training camp. Any coach or general manager will tell you that's a great problem to have.