It didn’t take long for defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to make his mark on the San Francisco 49ers defense.
In Hargrave’s first game with San Francisco, the 49ers racked up 30 pressures on 51 dropbacks by Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
Buy 49ers TicketsDespite losing Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu, two of their top edge rushers from last year, the 49ers defensive front picked up where it left off with Hargrave leading the way.
Hargrave tied for the team lead with five pressures. Second-year defensive end Drake Jackson also had five while tallying three sacks. That’s as many sacks as Jackson had all of his rookie season. He benefited greatly from the interior pressure Hargrave helped create and did well to clean up a couple of sacks when Pickett bailed out of a collapsing pocket.
Also in the mix were DTs Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw, along with DEs Nick Bosa and Clelin Ferrell. Each of them had three pressures.
Armstead in particular spent a ton of time in the backfield, and it’s not a huge surprise that a big game from him came in his first start alongside Hargrave. The 49ers former first-round pick has struggled to reach the heights he climbed to in 2019 alongside DT DeForest Buckner, who was traded ahead of the 2020 season.
In that 2019 campaign, Armstead put up a career-high 10 sacks. In three seasons since then, he has just 9.5 sacks. While he didn’t tally one Sunday, he was a force in the middle of the offensive line. He spent plenty of time collapsing the pocket as Pickett was sacked five times and never got comfortable.
While San Francisco’s offensive playmakers will get plenty of shine, Hargrave leading the way for the 49ers defense could be what they need to get over the hump and hoist the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.
