The San Francisco 49ers seemingly pulled off another steal when they traded for defensive end Chase Young right before the trade deadline. While dealing away just a third-round pick, the 49ers already feel an impact from Young just one game into his tenure in SF.
In his debut game with the 49ers, Young put up a half sack and four pressures on Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa noted that Young not only added to the team with his pass rush, but his energy as well.
“Our room is a pretty quiet room of D-linemen & I think he’s going to bring a great energy,” Bosa said on the Third and Long podcast on Tidal League. “We love to play but we’re quieter guys, not the rah-rah type of group, but I think you need somebody who’s willing to talk a little smack & bring that energy to the D-line. … We know we have the squad to do what we want to do, it’s just stay the course,” via Coach Yac.
The lack of energy on the 49ers defensive line was evident previously during their three-game losing streak. San Francisco struggled to bring down ball-carriers right away, and the 49ers' defense was unexpectedly gashed on multiple occasions. In their win over the Jaguars, they looked revived as they held Jacksonville to just three points, sacked Lawrence five times and forced four turnovers.
Another factor that might have added to the energy was bringing Steve Wilks down to the sidelines. With Wilks in the booth, the 49ers were missing the energy that Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans brought on big defensive stops in previous years. It seemed to pay off in the win over the Jaguars, and will look to do the same versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.