The 49ers haven’t had a bonafide pass rusher since Aldon Smith left the team in 2014. That may have changed on Thursday, when San Francisco signed defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu to a one-year deal.
A second-round pick by the Chargers in 2014, Attaochu was a force at Georgia Tech, earning third-team All-American honors after finishing his senior season with 12.5 sacks in 13 games. A physical specimen (6-foot-3, 252 pounds) with exceptional speed (4.58 40-yard dash), Attaochu showed flashes in 2015 with six sacks in 12 games for San Diego, but saw a broken foot in 2016 derail his career.
Attaochu is looking for a fresh start with the 49ers this season, and joined Larry Krueger on The Krueg Show Podcast to detail exactly where he’ll fit on San Francisco’s talented D-Line. Attaochu sees his talent as an outside rusher as the perfect compliment to the 49ers’ inside presence.
“Probably the LEO position, but honestly any position that is going to make the quarterback step up a lot because the guys on the inside are extremely talented and that’s what I do best,” Attaochu said. “That’s what I did coming out of college, but I never always had guys inside that could get the job done, I always had to get it done myself. Now it’s going to be a lot of fun having (DeForest) Buckner and (Arik) Armstead and (Solomon) Thomas and other guys who can really rush from inside and really get a push. It’s going to be an exciting opportunity to start working in OTAs, meeting guys and getting ready to be a force.
“We wanna have shooters on the field like Golden State when it comes to pass rushing.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Attaochu talk about his role, skip to 8:16.