49ers mailbag: Chase Young trade benefits three — Young, Nick Bosa, Steve Wilks

It remains to be seen how much Chase Young boosts the San Francisco 49ers’ defense. But he’s already boosted this mailbag.

The 24-year-old defensive end was the No. 1 topic after the 49ers made an 11th-hour deal to acquire him Tuesday. Other topics included defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ job status, Drake Jackson’s roster status and what the 49ers likely will do in the first round of the draft.

Thanks for the terrific, bye-week questions, which have been edited for length and clarity.

How might the relationship and synergy between Nick Bosa and Young off the field elevate both of their efforts and performance on the field? — Doug H.

I think you hit the nail on the head as far as why this deal makes so much sense. This maneuver is a gift for both players — for Young because he’ll be in a better system, one that will use more like he was used at Ohio State, and for Bosa because now offenses won’t be able to entirely gear their pass protection to his side.

Bosa and his older brother, Joey, have been mentors to Young since Young arrived at Ohio State. Bosa is sticking around Santa Clara during the bye, and his plan is to give Young a crash course in the 49ers defense so he hits the ground running when practice resumes next week.

Did Young tend to freelance and lose focus in Washington? I don’t know the answer because I don’t cover the Commanders. But even if that’s true, it’s hard to see that happening here. Young has too much reverence for Bosa.

It’s also hard to see him ever getting the huge snap numbers he was seeing this season with the Commanders. Young played 75 snaps in a Week 6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and has logged more than 60 in two other games this season.

Bosa never has hit the 70 mark since entering the league in 2019. Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek will spell both players with Clelin Ferrell and Randy Gregory, which also ought to keep Young sharp and focused.

Truly, how much of an upgrade is Chase Young (vs. Ferrell, Gregory, Drake Jackson)? Lynch made it sound like a good addition for the price, not necessarily one they were drooling over. I know his pressure numbers are good but anything else that makes him stand out as a clear upgrade? — Mason M.

I think Lynch had to be circumspect for two reasons: 1) Young hadn’t passed his physical at the time Lynch was speaking. It would have been awkward to gush about a trade acquisition and then have the trade get scuttled later in the day (it wasn’t). 2) Gushing about how much Young will help the team makes the other players on defense look bad.

How much of an upgrade is Young? His pressure numbers aren’t just better than Ferrell’s, Gregory’s and Jackson’s individually — they’re better than that group’s collectively. He has 38 quarterback pressures in 407 snaps this season. The other three have 35 in 689 snaps. (Someone who’s good at math could probably quantify that.)

If the Bosa/Young combo proves to be a wrecking ball this year, there is no way they can sign Young back right? … Right? — Ryan L

You know, I wanted to fire off that question during Lynch’s Wednesday presser, but I couldn’t get it out of the holster. I failed. My sense, however, is that this is a nine-game rental the way receiver Emmanuel Sanders was in 2019. If Young excels, it stands to reason that he’d be a hot commodity in free agency and that the 49ers might be able to recoup the compensatory third-round pick they sent to Washington with a third-round compensatory pick in 2025.

According to the last 49ers Minutia Minute, Jackson seems to be buried at the bottom of the depth chart behind Ferrell and Gregory. Would you say DE is almost a lock for SF as next year’s first-round pick? — Allan B.

Yes, I’d put it at the top of the heap along with offensive tackle. Remember, Young and Ferrell aren’t signed for next season while Gregory is owed no money beyond this season. The defensive ends under contract: Bosa, Jackson and rookie Robert Beal Jr.

Jackson’s snap counts have been spiraling downward — good on you, Allan B., for being an avid Minutia Minute reader — and he could be the odd man out in the D-line rotation on game days. Beal barely practiced this summer and has been on injured reserve since the start of the season.

Oh, one more reason they could take a defensive end in the first round: The 49ers crave defensive linemen like Pooh craves honey. (Note to art department: Need a drawing of Shanahan as bloated Pooh gorging on cistern of honey except cistern reads: D-line.)

Is there a sense some of the defensive players are not completely bought into defensive coordinator Wilks’ scheme? — Nathan W.

Well, Fred Warner and the others are saying all the right things when asked about Wilks and the scheme. But at the very least it’s clear the blitz calls in Minnesota didn’t sit well with the players.

The defensive linemen, including Bosa, have said it’s not their usual style. And on that much-scrutinized blitz at the end of the half, Talanoa Hufanga didn’t fully commit to the blitz, which allowed Kirk Cousins to get off the fateful pass. Whether that hesitance was due to confusion or poor execution or wavering buy-in is unknown. But it sure underscores it’s something the team isn’t accustomed to doing.

How much input does Kyle Shanahan give on the defensive side of the ball? Would he step in and ask Wilks to change things up over the bye? — Jason H.

It’s Shanahan’s team. If he doesn’t like something, he’ll change it.

The 49ers defense is obviously a low point right now, and I totally understand that frustrations with defense usually call for DC’s being fired … but why the hell does Shanahan get so many passes with this fan base? He is essentially the OC and the 49ers have scored only 17 points three weeks in a row. — Isaac C.

I don’t know if anything has highlighted Shanahan’s merits as much as the current Jimmy Garoppolo/Raiders offense fiasco in Las Vegas. Garoppolo’s passer rating last year: 103. Garoppolo’s passer rating this year: 78.1.

Spencer Burford has been abysmal this season, especially in pass protection. Jon Feliciano will have to fill in for Aaron Banks while he recovers from the turf toe injury, but is there any indication he could slide in for Burford once Banks is back? — Brian R.

Ask me after the Tampa Bay game. It seems that Feliciano will start at left guard against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If he is solid in those contests — and if Burford continues to wobble — your suggestion makes sense. Feliciano has started 28 games at right guard over his career, 10 at left guard.

Considering Shanahan’s comments on the team being fatigued against the Cincinnati Bengals, do you think they regretted not staying close to Cleveland after the Browns game to reduce the travel in the middle of that brutal three-game stretch? — Allan B.

I wondered the same thing, and I’m sure the 49ers will at least consider what happened this year if there is a similar sequence in future seasons. However, it seems like the biggest issue was having to rally after landing in the Bay Area in the wee hours of Tuesday morning following the Minnesota Vikings game. It meant that the 49ers essentially had a day and a half less rest/recovery time than in a normal week. And, of course, they were playing a Bengals team that was fresh and peppy coming off its bye.

Staying somewhere in the Midwest between Cleveland and Minnesota might have helped. But the big blow came post-Vikings.

If a coaching change were to be made (this late in the season) on the defensive side, who would be some of the candidates to take over? — Allen F.

I’ve wondered whether Nick Sorensen might be right for that job. He’s been a coordinator before — he was Jacksonville’s special teams coordinator in 2021. And he’s had his hand in a lot of different areas on the 49ers defense the last two years. For example, he coached the linebackers when Johnny Holland was being treated for multiple myeloma last year. His title this year is defensive passing game specialist/nickels coach.

Holland is another candidate. Shanahan has known him for a long time. They coached together in Houston 15 years ago and Holland was one of Shanahan’s first hires in San Francisco in 2017. Sorensen also could handle the linebackers if Holland took over as coordinator.

Other than Banks, have there been any Day 1 or 2 picks that have made an impact since 2019? Should this be concerning? Should we expect any contribution this season from Danny Gray? It seems that with the roster getting more expensive, picks will need to hit. — Jake T

Well, Brandon Aiyuk (Round 1, 2020) ranks 10th in receiving yards despite missing a full game earlier this year. But I understand your point.

One of the issues is that some late-round picks and undrafted players have outperformed early-round picks. Jordan Mason (undrafted) is ahead of Tyrion Davis-Price (third round) at running back while Ronnie Bell (seventh round) is ahead of Gray (third round) at receiver. You could argue that Kevin Givens (undrafted) has outperformed or is at least equal to Javon Kinlaw (first round) at defensive tackle. Quarterback also follows that pattern (See: Lance, Trey).

Any chance Samuel Womack III’s return will allow Lenoir to move down, and send Isaiah Oliver to the bench? — Gregg C.

The 49ers tried Womack at nickel last summer and appeared to give up on that idea. He hasn’t been back at that spot since despite clear issues at the position in the most recent training camp. Could the team revisit that idea? Sure, but it would be hard to do that in the middle of the season.

Any news on Ilm Manning’s progression after he was re-signed? — Martin H., Norway

No, none other than the 49ers officially have switched him from tackle, which he played in the preseason, to guard, which is a more suitable position for his physique. I put him in the same category as tackle Leroy Watson: They are practice squadders who probably won’t factor in this season but who are youngsters to watch when practices crank up in the spring.

UPDATE: After writing this, the Browns signed Watson from the 49ers practice squad and onto their active roster.

Hi Matt, a lot of negative stuff is flying about at the moment. What would be the “glass half-full” take on the season so far? — Simon A.

1. There have been no long-term injuries.
2. The team has yet to play division frontrunner Seattle.
3. The team now has two former defensive rookies of the year.

When’s the last time so much pressure was put on a coordinator? — David D.

There were calls to fire Robert Saleh in 2018, especially after his defense got crushed in a 46-13 loss to Seattle that year. Shanahan resisted and the 49ers defense bounced back with a vengeance the following year.

Of course, the pressure Saleh was under then and Wilks is feeling now pale compared to what then-offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye was going through in 2010. He was fired after just three games that year. It didn’t help that the 49ers, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, were being run by young, tech-savvy people at that point and Raye clearly didn’t know what Yahoo was.

Which former Niners player did you dress up as Tuesday night? — Christoffer A.

Jalen Hurd. I knocked on a couple of doors, then called it a night.

(Top photo of Chase Young: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)

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