The San Francisco 49ers have a habit of turning around the careers of flailing defensive players. After a slow start to his NFL career, is Clelin Ferrell the next in line for a career resurgence in 2023?

   Let’s just get it out in the open and rip the band-aid off. Clelin Ferrell should never have been the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Lovers of hindsight will point to that rhetoric now, but it was also the truth straight out of the gate. Ferrell was in the 25-40 range on most big boards and when the Raiders picked him at No. 4 there was genuine surprise. The immediate reaction was that they had reached to get their guy as the Raiders have been known to do from time to time.

   Ferrell was impressive at Clemson and viewed as a potential first-round pick, albeit a late one, but also seen as a stiff pass rusher that lacked suddenness. He had a chance of making an impact with the Raiders but his draft selection packed the pressure on him from the word go. Ultimately, things didn’t work out for Ferrell in Oakland, and then Vegas.

   He started well enough for a rookie on a bad defense. His 26 pressures were 7th among all rookie edge rushers, per PFF. Not terrible considering the circumstances, but not indicative of someone who was drafted in the top 5. The unfortunate reality is players of that draft stature don’t have the luxury of lower expectations. They’re required to hit the ground running. Ferrell hit the ground at more of a meandering pace. He showed some flashes, but fans were always left wanting more.

   Except it never fully came to fruition. He started 11 games in the Raiders’ first season in Las Vegas but missed time with COVID and other ailments. Despite missing some time, Ferrell did have 30 pressures – a career-high – but, again, a lack of real progress as well as the breakout of Maxx Crosby cast doubt over his role. He’d feature as little more than a bit part player in 2021, starting no games and playing just 261 total snaps. The arrival of Chandler Jones and the decline of his fifth-year option prior to the 2022 season was the writing on the wall.

   Now, Ferrell finds himself on the San Francisco 49ers roster ahead of the 2023 season, signing a 1-year $2.5 million deal in the offseason. It’s a fresh start for Ferrell, who has shown at times that there’s an impactful NFL player in there somewhere. There might be no better landing spot than San Francisco to draw those performances out.

   Long has the 49ers’ defensive line been the envy of the NFL. It was the defensive line that helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl LIV and since then, it’s gone from strength to strength. Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead have been the two constants, while a rotating cast of impressive players like DeForest Buckner, Dee Ford, and now Javon Hargrave have joined in on the fun.

   A big reason for their success has been Kris Kocurek. The defensive line coach has been with the team since 2019, right around the time their defense really stepped up. No coincidence there. His ability to help develop defensive linemen has been second to none, and in recent seasons, the 49ers have had a penchant for taking down on their luck defensive linemen, putting them in positions to succeed and reaping the rewards. 

   Arden Key is the first name that springs to mind. The former Raider was waived by the team in 2021 after three uninspiring seasons in which he totaled just three sacks. There were reasons to believe Key could be a valuable contributor for the Raiders, but it never materialised.

   A former third round pick getting waived in the third year of his rookie contract is generally a bad sign, but it might have been the best thing that could have happened to Key. He latched on with the 49ers, signing a one-year deal, and was completely revitalised on the defensive line. A then-career-high 36 pressures and 6.5 sacks was on the menu for Key – who showed his inside-out versatility and the length and explosiveness that made him such an interesting prospect.

   One strong year in San Francisco helped turn Key around – he signed with the Jaguars in 2022 and topped his pressure rate from a year before, notching 44 pressures per PFF. Doing so on an arguably worse defensive line too, Key proved that the production from a year before was real and cashed in by signing a long-term deal with the Titans this offseason.

   It isn’t just Key that’s benefitted from a move to Levi Stadium. Charles Omenihu hasn’t bounced around from team to team like Key, but his career was in danger of stagnating in Houston. He was traded to the 49ers midway through the 2021 season and took off. He posted a career-high 54 pressures and 4.5 sacks in 2022 with the 49ers and was a big pass-rushing presence alongside Bosa and Armstead before signing with the Chiefs this offseason.

   Of course, Key and Omenihu have always been talented players – but they needed to find their way to San Francisco to unlock that talent after slow starts to their careers. That’s why there’s hope for Ferrell. He’ll be working under one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL, and his – as well as the 49ers as a whole – reputation for developing defensive linemen is impeccable. Ferrell could really be in for a bounceback season in San Francisco, just like Key and Omenihu before him. 

-Thomas Valentine

Twitter: @tvalentinesport

Photo: The 621st Contingency Response Wing. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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