Nick Bosa recently was asked to give his first impression of San Francisco 49ers defensive end Leonard Floyd.
SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers have been searching for a defensive end to complement Nick Bosa since they drafted him in 2019.
They've tried Dee Ford, Samson Ebukam, Arden Key, Drake Jackson and Chase Young, and none of them have recorded more than 6.5 sacks in a season.. The 49ers signed him this offseason, and he has recorded at least 9 sacks four seasons in a row. Which means he has a chance to be the best edge rusher the 49ers ever have paired with Bosa.
"I think he's a super skilled rusher with good length," Bosa said of Leonard. "He's more athletic than I even realized. Guys like him, when they come to our scheme, the best is brought out of them. I'm excited to see what potential he has. He's in Year 9. I feel like as a defensive lineman you can keep improving all the way through 10 years in this league, so excited to see what he's got.
Leonard is built like an outside linebacker, which is the position he has played for most of his career. Last year, he played defensive end for the Buffalo Bills, and that's the position he'll play for the 49ers. The good news is that Floyd recorded 10.5 sacks while playing just 54 percent of the defensive snaps. The bad news is that the Bills defense ranked 28th out of 32 teams in yards per carry allowed.
As long as Leonard stays healthy, he seems like a lock to be the 49ers' best edge rusher opposite Bosa yet. The question will be his run defense because that was a major issue for the 49ers last season.Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis.
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