Few defensive lines in the NFL have more potential heading into the 2017 season than the San Francisco 49ers. Boasting three consecutive versatile first-round draft picks, the trio of Arik Armstead (2015), DeForest Bucker (2016) and Solomon Thomas enter the season with limited experience, but boast the physical tools to turn around a defensive front that was one of the worst units in the NFL last year.
49ers Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott knows all about turning potential into on the field success, making the Pro Bowl and helping lead San Francisco to the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory in his rookie season. Lott also played with a number of high impact young players throughout his career, and told Murph & Mac on Friday that he expects big things from the 49ers’ defensive line, including a dominating performance against the Panthers this weekend.
“Being around Dwight Hicks and being around Carlton Williamson and being around Eric Wright, the sense of urgency. All those guys came from winning (college) programs, all those guys were hungry,” Lott said. “So it wasn’t about being a rookie, it was about trying to find a way. When you think about finding a way, how to get to the top? That kind of group of guys they want to get to the top. And you’ve got some guys — I keep going to the (defensive) front — the front of the defensive line, these guys have high expectations.
“They’ve all played, All-Americans, all-everything, they have the capabilities of dominating games, and that’s what we should see in a game like this (against Carolina). They should move on up. They should have the capabilities of getting that done, they’ve done it before. They’ve played at great programs, now it’s transitioning that into opportunities to move on up, to be great. That’s why we love watching the things we love watching because you get to see guys move on up, and they’re gonna move on up this year. That D-line is gonna move on up.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Lott’s comments on the defensive line, skip to the 5:10 mark.