The 49ers aren’t shy about their desire to improve their roster at any position. That includes the edge rush — a position that helped spearhead their Super Bowl run last season. They met with a pair of defensive ends that were top-5 picks in their respective drafts according to reports from NFL Network and ESPN.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Tuesday morning reported the 49ers had former Lions and Seahawks defensive end Ezekiel Ansah in for a physical and COVID-19 testing. Ansah was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Detroit Lions. He racked up 48 sacks in six years with the Lions, including a career-high 14.5 in 2015 when he earned his only Pro Bowl nod. He made his way to the Seahawks last season but didn’t find much success in a year where injuries limited him to 11 games. Ansah notched 2.5 sacks with Seattle.
He wasn’t the only former Seahawks edge rusher to visit with the 49ers though. San Francisco also hosted Dion Jordan, who went No. 3 in the 2013 draft to the Dolphins, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Jordan hasn’t lived up to his status as a top-3 pick. He’s posted 10.5 sacks in 50 games across six seasons. He spent two years in Miami with just 3.0 sacks, then missed 2015 while he was suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Jordan also missed 2016 despite getting reinstated by the league. The Seahawks picked him up for the 2017 and 2018 campaigns after the Dolphins released him, then the Raiders scooped him up for the 2019 season. In the last three years he played 24 games and put up 7.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Neither player has officially signed yet, but San Francisco’s interest in both indicates they’re aiming to bolster their pass rush depth and improve an already strong unit.
