The San Francisco 49ers dramatically reworked their defense this offseason. Dre Greelaw and Talanoa Hufanga are Broncos. Javon Hargrave is in Minnesota, and Charvarius Ward made his way to Indianapolis.
Former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who spent the last three-plus seasons as head coach of the Jets, has returned to the Bay Area.
General manager John Lynch spent their first five selections in the 2025 NFL Draft on defensive talents, and some are expected to make a notable impact for Saleh in year one.
After Tuesday’s practice, Saleh spoke with reporters in Santa Clara about their young defensive pieces and their potential roles as rookies.
The following is courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers Communications:
Q: With the young defensive lineman in camp, I know there’s a lot of details in learning the system. How much more detail is it than people realize as far as the young guys and their adjustment to this level?
Saleh: “There’s a lot, especially in the run game. Especially when you’re dealing with an offense like ours where they’ve got every run, I think in the history of football. So, there’s different blocking combinations, different fields, trap blocks, wham blocks, outside zone, inside zone, and duo double teams. There are so many different types of schemes that they run, and if you’re not on it, you can just get washed out of the place.
“The great thing about playing our offense is we get a great opportunity to see all these different blocking combinations and we have a chance to work them.”
Q: “Robert, can you talk generally about the rookies showing great growth and getting better every day? Is there anybody currently that kind of epitomizes that to you?
Saleh: “Knock on wood, we love this rookie class. They’re all attacking every moment. [LB] Fred [Warner] spoke pretty candidly about [CB] Upton Stout. He’s doing a hell of a job. [DL] Alfred’s [Collins] been getting better every day, getting his legs underneath him, showing some really good progress in the run game. C.J.’s been showing good stuff in the run game. [DL] Mykel [Williams] obviously, it’s hard to see in there, but his past rush on the inside’s been fantastic. Even, [S Marques] Sigle at safety is coming along really strong and doing a really nice job.
“So just overall as a group, they’re getting better. They’re competing, going against a really precise offense. Our offense has been rolling out for eight years, so the precision at which they operate is pretty damn good. So, they’re getting all they can handle as rookies. It’s as hard as it’s going get for them, going against our offense and all the different things they do, but they’re showing that it’s not too big for them.”
What does Mykel [Williams] do that makes him an effective interior rusher?
Saleh: “He’s got great feet. He’s kind of awkward because he’s long, he’s tall. He’s not a traditional three technique. So, he’s got great foot speed, strength, power, and length. He’s shifty. He can get outside his frame. It’s different for guards to go against a guy like him. He’s so good with his hands. He’s so good with his feet. He plays with great pad level, he’s got power.
“So, he’s a three-way player. He can run around you, he can run through you, he can counter, he’s showing all of it off. He still has a long way to go. He’s going to be a good football player in this league. It may not come this year, but you could see it through practice that this kid, once he gets it, it’s going to be special.”
Q: Robert, you said knock on wood. As you know, the odds are all these defensive rookies are not all going to be NFL starters. It could, right? Are you kind of like, geez, this is going well? You’re joking about not wanting to jinx it, but are you just pleasantly surprised because the future really is unknown?
Saleh: “It is. I joke with [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] that, shoot, if you hit 50% of your draft picks in a year, that’s a hell of a draft class. I think that’s why we’re all excited for Denver to come in. Sometimes you get into a routine where you’re recognizing the same bodies, same players, same stems, same formations, so the encouraging thing is that they can learn when they see the same thing over and over again.
“The challenge now is going to be a completely new opponent with no preparation because we’re not preparing for Denver. We’re just lining up. Just throwing it on the field and seeing how they play. So, we’re really excited to see how it goes and fully expecting some lumps along the way. But one thing is for certain, I do think that their competitive drive is going to be there.”
Q: When you go through the holes that you have to fill in that defense. Is Upton kind of one of those ones that you’re almost sure he will have a starting spot?
Saleh: “No. To piggyback off Kyle, you could probably say he has the inside track in a very long race, and we still have three preseason games. He’s still got to show that he can do what he’s been doing against different competition. Still got to show he can tackle. So, there’s still a lot of things that he has to show. Same with all these rookies. You can say he’s got the inside track, but like I said, we’re in a marathon, and we haven’t completed the first leg yet.”
Q: There were also a lot of rookies on the roster in 2017. What are the similarities and differences between the two experiences?
Saleh: “It is different. The similarity is a bunch of people learning a whole new system. There’s a possibility that there might be eight new starters on defense. The difference being a lot of them are rookies you still had [S] Jimmie Ward, [S Jaquiski] Tartt, [CB] K’Waun Williams, some veteran presence along with the D-line. You had Buck [DeForrest Buckner], [DL Arik] Armstead, and the linebacker room. I think we brought in a whole bunch of new people after our first year. But the challenge is the same in the sense that there’s a lot of new people here too.
“You got [S Jason] Pinnock is new, [S] Richie Grant, [CB Siran] Neal, and [CB] Tre Brown. There are a bunch of new players here too. It’s a really cool mixture of veterans along with a bunch of young guys who are kind of injecting a lot of renewed youth into the vets. They’re out there making plays, it’s exciting. They’ve got great intent, all of them. They’ve got great football character where they’re constantly fighting every single day to find the little nugget to get better, which makes Fred and [DB Deommodore] Lenoir want to go talk to them to help out.
“They’re making it fun, and they just got to keep competing at the level they’re trying to compete at.”
More San Francisco Giants coverage on Sactown Sports
“I honestly just came up here to air a grievance,” George Kittle said as he interrupted NFL Network’s interview with fellow San Francisco 49ers teammate Fred Warner.
“Our team got a memo today that smelling salts and ammonia packets were made illegal in the NFL, and I’ve been distraught all day,” he continued.
Kittle seemingly broke the news to the NFL world, lightheartedly saying he considered retirement and that they “need to come up with a middle ground.”
San Francisco’s six-time Pro-Bowl tight end is entering his eighth NFL season, and their 2025 preseason debut is set for Saturday against the Denver Broncos.
According to ESPN, the memo listed FDA warnings as the reason for prohibiting teams.
Read More:
George Kittle speaks on out NFL’s smelling salts, ammonia ban
Upcoming San Francisco 49ers Schedule
Preseason
Tuesday, July 15th – Start of training camp (Rookies)
Saturday, August 9th – vs. Denver Broncos – 5:30 PM PT
Saturday, August 16th – @ Las Vegas Raiders – 1:00 PM PT
Saturday, August 23rd – vs. Los Angeles Chargers – 5:30 PM PT
Regular Season
Sunday, September 7th – @ Seattle Seahawks – 1:05 PM PT *Season opener*
Sunday, September 14th – @ New Orleans Saints – 10:00 AM PT
Sunday, September 21st – vs. Arizona Cardinals – 1:25 PM PT
Sunday, September 28th – vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – 1:05 PM PT
Thursday, October 2nd – @ Los Angeles Rams – 5:15 PM PT
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