The trade of defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Colts at the start of the 2020 league year threw the interior of the 49ers’ defensive line into flux. They’ll be replacing a player who played 810 defensive snaps and excelled on all three downs.
Matching Buckner’s production is likely going to take a group of players as part of a rotation. The battle for the interior spots is going to be fascinating since there are so many capable players on the roster. It’s worth noting Arik Armstead will likely share some of those duties, but he was discussed in our look at the 49ers’ defensive ends.
Here’s how the defensive tackle depth chart projection looks heading into camp:
Javon Kinlaw
The 49ers used the 13th overall pick they got in the Buckner deal to move down one spot and select Kinlaw No. 14 overall out of South Carolina. He has all the physical tools to fill the void left by Buckner, but it may take a season for him to round into peak form. Kinlaw is 6-5, 319 pounds and athletic with a good motor. The Gamecocks often played him at nose tackle where his overall statistical production suffered. He finished his career with 10.0 sacks in 29 games. However, the 49ers will play him plenty at the 3-technique where he should play some effective snaps early on.
DJ Jones
Jones wound up as a hidden gem from the 2017 draft class where San Francisco selected him in the sixth round. He played in just 19 games with four starts in his first two seasons. Last year he earned a starting role where he started all 11 games he played before a high ankle sprain sidelined him for the season. Jones had 2.0 sacks and played well as a run stopper in the middle of the defensive line. He’s the player most likely to see an uptick in playing time and production while the team adjusts to life post-Buckner.
Solomon Thomas
While Thomas hasn’t lived up to his status as a No. 3 overall pick, he’s still a serviceable player who could benefit from added snaps inside. Thomas isn’t an effective edge rusher, and he’s at his best using his athleticism to win on the interior. The problem for Thomas is he hasn’t won enough to justify playing him with regularity. He’s seen his starts go from 12, to 13, to 3 last year. And his snap count has plummeted from 696 as a rookie to just 424 in 2019. Thomas will get plenty of opportunities to carve out a significant role on the defensive line, but it’s going to take a pretty big improvement for him to be more than a rotational player getting around 40 percent of the snaps.
Jullian Taylor
Taylor joined the club in 2018 as a seventh-round pick. He was a project, but his 6-5, 280-pound frame and good athleticism helped him stick around and work his way into a rotational role last season. A knee injury wound up knocking him out in Week 13. Taylor is inconsistent, but the flashes that allowed him to notch four tackles for loss in just 102 total snaps are the reason he’ll continue getting serious consideration for a job on the interior. If he’s the team’s fourth defensive tackle, they’re in a pretty good spot depth-wise.
Kevin Givens
Givens shined in the preseason game at Denver last year and wound up on the practice squad before getting 10 snaps at Seattle in Week 17 during his NFL regular season debut. He didn’t have much of an impact last year, but openings on the back end of the defensive line depth chart could get him onto the active roster much sooner than Week 17 this year.
Willie Henry Jr.
Henry spent a tumultuous three seasons with the Ravens after they made him a fourth-round pick in 2016 the 2016 draft. He was active for only one game as a rookie, then posted six tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks in 14 games his second year. Henry couldn’t build on that campaign though due to a stint on IR in his third year. Baltimore released him prior to last season. If he can reach the form he found in 2017 where he pressured quarterbacks from the interior, he has a real shot to make waves in camp. It’s going to take a huge showing in the preseason to work his way into the regular rotation given his competition and track record though.
Kentavius Street
After nearly a two-year wait, Street made his debut with the 49ers in Week 15 of the 2019 season. They chose him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft after he tore his ACL in a pre-draft workout. Street’s production in three games was limited while he played just 38 snaps. He wound up on Injured Reserve again in early January with more knee issues. Street will compete for a roster spot, but his health makes him a significant question mark going into the year.
Darrion Daniels
The 49ers signed Daniels after the 2019 draft as an undrafted free agent. He spent four seasons at Oklahoma State and one year at Nebraska as a grad transfer. While the production isn’t there, he has a great motor and a very good reputation – earning a starting job and captaincy with the Cornhuskers in his only season there. He’s a prime practice squad candidate if the roster spots ahead of him dry up.
