Unusual Qualities of Chase Young for a Deserving Come-Back with the 49ers:

Chase Young made an early impact in the 49ers’ triumph over the Jaguars last week.

He was precisely as described. Both as a pass rusher and a run defender, he had a significant influence. And it was only his first game in a 49ers uniform, so picture the havoc he’ll cause once he’s established in.

He’s already helping to free up the rest of the defensive line and creating a mismatch nightmare when lined up next to Nick Bosa. Young will continue to be a tremendous impact player for the 49ers, without a doubt. He provides them the strongest tandem edge rush the 49ers have had since Dee Ford joined the team in 2019.

That is why, when the season is done, the 49ers will re-sign Young.

They’ve been looking for another edge rusher to anchor opposite Bosa for years. The last two seasons have essentially been a collection of depth. In some ways, it was a platoon system, but with so many departed defensive linemen, the 49ers needed a truly dominant pass rusher.

Due to injuries that derailed the end of his career, Ford was a one-season wonder. Drake Jackson is clearly not going to pan out this year, thus Young provides them with the rushed edge rusher they’ve been looking for. Young, I’m sure, would like to stay on board as well.

After being with a weak organization like the Commanders, being with the 49ers, who are always going to be postseason contenders, must seem immensely refreshing. Furthermore, he is surrounded by considerable talent. My first instinct was to offer him a one-year contract. It’s a method for Young to invest in himself for the future in order to increase his value heading into the 2025 offseason.

However, if he continues to play good, he might land a longer-term deal with the 49ers.

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Davy Jones’ Locker: Q&A with Niners Nation about the Buccaneers versus. 49ers

This week’s matchup pits the 4-5 Buccaneers (+12) against the 6-3 49ers (-12) in San Francisco on Sunday. The Buccaneers were humiliated 35-7 by Brock Purdy and the 49ers the last time these two teams met. They are hoping for a better result this time.

We got down with Ryan Bainbridge of Niners Nation to get a better look at this matchup in order to preview the game.

1. The 49ers recently ended a three-game losing run by defeating the Jaguars (-6.5). What made that game so different from the prior three weeks?

During the losing streak, the Niners were getting behind early, lost the turnover battle, and struggled to stop the run. The game against Jacksonville they were able to shut all those issues down. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks moved from the box to the field to call plays. Not sure how much that really changes thing, but I know he mentioned how much he enjoyed being able to celebrate and spend more time with the players during the game. This is something former coordinators Demeco Ryans and Robert Saleh did as well and I think the defense was able to feed off their energy. The addition of Chase Young made an obvious impact against a middle of the road Jacksonville offensive line too, and Wilks used more loaded fronts with Young, Nick Bosa, and Randy Gregory to apply more pressure. They also made a change at nickel, where Isaiah Oliver had been struggling all season. Deommodore Lenoir moved from outside to the slot and it was an immediate upgrade to the secondary. The offense didn’t look much different from the losing streak to be honest, with the exception of getting back a healthy (or nearly healthy) Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams. But they have looked good on that side of the ball all year and took care of the football.

2. Christian McCaffrey has been a force this season, and the Niners have a slew of additional offensive possibilities. How would you approach slowing down this offensive if you were Tampa’s defensive coordinator?

We have gotten asked this question quite a bit this season and there really haven’t been many good answers. If you can make them one-dimensional, it’s a start. The offensive line is much better as a run blocking unit than in pass protection. But even when the running game has lacked explosiveness in games, Brock Purdy has found success getting the ball downfield. He is what is making the offense GO right now, and when CMC is seeing walls rushing, Purdy/Shanahan involve him in the passing game. It’s been a joy to watch McCaffrey get the opportunities he has had since joining San Francisco, he’s such a smart and versatile player. Blitzing hasn’t really been successful in knocking Purdy off his game, so the best attempt to slow down the passing game is generating pressure with four and trying to confuse Purdy on the backend with unique zone looks.

3. What are the Niners’ major strengths and weaknesses on defense that Tampa Bay should be aware of?

Biggest strength is now the front four (or sometimes five). They’ve put a lot of resources into and their depth is starting to look really scary heading into the second half of the season. But they are going to get one-on-one opportunities for someone every down and that puts a lot of strain on opposing offensive lines. Bosa, Young, Gregory, Hargrave, Armstead, Kinlaw, Ferrell, Jackson have all had moments of really strong play and I just don’t know how a team can prepare for it for all 60 minutes. The weakness is definitely in the corner group. Lenoir was an upgrade at nickel last week but he is still susceptible to let up some big catches. Ambry Thomas, who was able to move outside with Lenoir shifting inside, is a good but inexperienced player. You can attack those guys. Charvarius Ward seems to only get pointed out when he allows a big catch but it’s much more rare than people think. He’s been an excellent number one corner in his San Francisco tenure.