Heading into the 2026 season, pundits believe the 49ers‘ biggest issue is their pass rush. One analyst recently named the unit the 49ers’ biggest Achilles heel for the season, both because of depth and health issues.
Of San Francisco’s edge rushers, only Sam Okuayinonu and rookie Romello Height are currently healthy. Keion White is still working back from an offseason gunshot wound, though he looked encouraging in a recent training video documenting his rehab progress, while Nick Bosa and Mykell Williams are recovering from torn ACLs.
Despite all that, Sports Illustrated‘s Matt Verderame still views the 49ers’ pass-rush talent as among the league’s best. He listed Bosa and 2026 trade acquisition Osa Odighizuwa as the fourth-best pass-rushing duo in the NFL, with health the central question hanging over the pairing.
The question with Bosa always centers around health. In his seven-year career, he has played at least 14 games on only five occasions. In those seasons, he’s racked up 62.5 sacks and 87 tackles for loss while making five Pro Bowls, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and once earning first-team All-Pro honors. However, he’s coming off a torn ACL that ended his 2025 season in Week 3 and he turned 29 years old in October.
Meanwhile, the 49ers acquired Odighizuwa from the Cowboys this offseason, as Dallas continues to remake its defense after ranking 32nd in points allowed. Despite being part of that mess, Odighizuwa is one of the better interior rushers in the league. He’s posted 23 quarterback hits each of the past two seasons, ranking second only to Chris Jones among defensive tackles. With Bosa and 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams coming off the edges, Odighizuwa could be primed for a career year.”
San Francisco finished fourth behind the New York Giants’ Brian Burns/Abdul Carter pairing, the Denver Broncos’ Nik Bonitto/Zach Allen, the Houston Texans’ Danielle Hunter/Will Anderson Jr., and the top-ranked Los Rams Rams duo of Myles Garrett and Byron Young.
If Bosa can stay on the field and Odighizuwa builds on back-to-back seasons of positive play, San Francisco has the pieces to be one of the more disruptive fronts in the NFC. And they’ll need it after finishing with a league-worst 20 sacks in 2025. Ideally, Bosa and Williams are both healthy and ready to go and start alongside Odighizuwa in the middle of the defensive line. But if they aren’t, the depth concerns are major issues to worry about this year.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers pass-rush duo ranks among NFL’s top five for 2026
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