NFL 2015: Ranking each defense from 32-1

27. San Francisco 49ers

It is amazing to think how far the 49ers have fallen in such a short period of time. Only 20 months ago, this was a team in the NFC Championship game against the Seattle Seahawks, largely because it had an elite defense with several Pro Bowlers. Fast forward to the present, and this is a group with an incredible amount of question marks and so many what-could-have-beens.

With the latest hit being Aldon Smith’s fifth arrest and subsequent release, San Francisco is without any kind of pass rush. The brass might be hoping to get lightning in a bottle from rookie Arik Armstead, but a 3-4 defensive end is not typically a pass-rusher, let alone in his rookie season. Ahmad Brooks is an aging player on the outside and one who has never been dazzling off the edge.

The secondary has a couple of good safeties in Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid, but that is where the talent sees a serious drop-off on the back-end. After losing Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown and Chris Culliver over the last two years in free agency, the projected starters are Shareece Wright and Tramaine Brock. Can anybody else see this playing out as a disaster?

Next: 26. New England Patriots