SANTA CLARA — Is Dee Ford the stud the 49ers think he is?
This offseason, they traded a second-round draft pick in 2020 to the Kansas City Chiefs for Ford, a 28-year-old defensive end, then gave him a five-year, $85.5 million contract extension, because they think he can transform their defense.
Last season, the 49ers’ defense ranked 13th in yards allowed, a respectable ranking. But it also ranked 21st in third-down defense, 26th in red-zone defense, 28th in points allowed and dead last in takeaways.
It was a bad defense in general.
“We have a functional, sound scheme,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh explained during minicamp.