The San Francisco 49ers led the NFL in total defense and grabbed the third-best overall grade with the help of formidable defensive players like Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Drake Jackson, Javon Kinlaw, Kerry Hyder, Kevin Givens as well as Clelin Ferrell, and team’s veteran defensive tackle Armstead thinks they can continue the legacy in the upcoming seasons as well.
The 29-year-old defensive player expressed his confidence in the team’s defensive prowess, boasting that their defensive line has what it takes to propel them to success on the field amid ongoing uncertainty regarding a starting quarterback due to the offseason elbow surgery of Brock Purdy.
What did Arik Armstead say about the 49ers’ defense?
Despite playing under an offensive-oriented head coach Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco has been hitting headlines for being one of the top defensive teams in the league.
During a recent appearance at KNBR’s Papa & Lund show on Friday, the 49ers DT Arik said he believes their defensive line is experienced enough to determine whether they can do better than the last season and cited his optimism in favor of a prolific season.
“Yeah, it’s going to be amazing. We put emphasis on that each and every year. We believe that it starts up front, and we believe that our team is going to go as far as our D-line can take us. And we truly believe that we can go out there and take over games and win them.”
San Francisco used the free agency period to bolster their defense by picking defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and Armstead thinks the addition would lead their team to the upward trajectory.
“So adding a guy like Javon, who’s been dominating his entire career and is a tremendous player, adding him to what we have built here and trying to take it to another level is going to be amazing to be a part of.”
Ninth-year in 49ers, the veteran witnessed a downturn with the lowest-graded season of his career last year, however, he remains optimistic about the team’s caliber following some fantastic draft picks.
“Also, I think we complement each other very well. I think it’s going to be very tough for offensive linemen to prepare for all of us, all the different looks that we’re giving at guys. We added some new brothers to our D-line this year, so we’re going to come at them in waves and throw different looks and throw different guys and rotate, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
How have the 49ers strengthened their defense?
When the claps are for the defense, the 49ers undoubtedly deserved the loudest noise, however, they decided to keep the cheers in their favor for a long period by using the recent NFL Draft to take defensive players with five of their nine picks.
The team picked Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown with the 87th overall pick in the third round, South Alabama cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. with the No. 115 pick alongside George edge rusher Robert Beal Jr. with No.173 in the fifth round of the Draft.
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The 49ers’ head coach Shanahan also picked linebacker Dee Winters with No. 216 in the sixth round and linebacker Jalen Graham with No. 255 in the seventh round of the Draft.
The upcoming season will undoubtedly put the 49ers’ defense to the test, as they will have the pressure to continue the legacy of having the best defense in the NFL and the team is also relying on their defensive prowess to fight for success even in the quarterback-driven league.
