2022 was one of Nick Bosa’s best seasons as a professional; he set a league record for sacks (18.5) and won NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in his career.
Maybe he’s just getting warmed up. That’s because on the first day of free agency in March, the 49ers unexpectedly signed defensive tackle Javon Hargrave away from the Philadelphia Eagles, which made it simpler for Bosa to get to the quarterback.
Bosa recently notified reporters about the move, saying, “I’m super excited.” “For the past few years in Philadelphia, we have been viewing tapes on him. Kris [49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek] would brag about him every time we watched him. He is among the league’s top interior players in our opinion, particularly when it comes to pressuring the passer. It will be really beneficial for us to have him on our team.”
The 49ers already boasted one of the most dangerous defensive lines in the NFL, led by Bosa and defensive lineman Arik Armstead. But Hargrave’s acquisition catapults San Francisco into elite status.
When speaking of Bosa, Hargrave described him as “just real humble.” “Being named Defensive Player of the Year, all I had to do was walk in, introduce myself, and attempt to help me catch up on stuff. Kind of like a family, actually.”
With a career-high 11 sacks to help Philadelphia lead the league with 70 during the regular season, the seven-year veteran had his greatest season yet with the Eagles last year. For the Eagles, edge Haason Reddick recorded a career-high 16 sacks, in part because Hargrave constantly forced the pocket inside.
Regarding signing Hargrave, Kocurek told reporters, “It’s just one more piece to the puzzle.” “Clearly a very talented element of the puzzle. I’ve been following Javon’s career, and he’s always been a really gifted player.
“However, I believe that over the past several years in Philadelphia, he has truly set himself apart from many other interior linebackers in the league, particularly in terms of pass rush ability — from rushing the quarterback to winning a lot of one-on-ones. Only a few players in the NFL have achieved the kind of success that he has.”
Out of 75 defensive tackles with at least 100 pass rushes, Hargrave produced pressure on 17.4% of them between Week 11 and the NFC Championship, according to Next Gen Stats.
Since DeForest Buckner was traded to the Indianapolis Colts following the 2019 season, the 49ers have struggled to assemble a reliable defensive tackle tandem. Armstead’s foot and ankle problems caused him to miss eight games last season; Javon Kinlaw, the other starting tackle, was limited to nine games (including playoffs) and struggled with a nagging knee injury.
Hargrave’s availability is one of his strongest traits; in seven NFL seasons, he has missed just three games.
“Last year was kind of a revolving door in the interior with the guys we had, and not having Arik or Javon,” Bosa stated. “After only a week here, guys were coming in and playing snaps in games. That simply isn’t the best for our plan. I believe that playing interior with our strategy is more mentally taxing than playing on the outside, so you really want to spend an offseason with coach [Kocurek] and truly understand the intricacies of the position.
“We got Kevin [Givens] this year, who keeps getting better. T.Y. [McGill] has been with us for an additional year. And then Arik, Javon [Hargrave], and Javon [Kinlaw] all have amazing looks. We simply seem to have a lot more depth. We can play with the effort and physicality we need to play with if we can switch guys in and out.
