The 49er’s pass defense was bad in 2018. Very bad. They gave up 35 touchdown passes and set the all-time NFL record for fewest interceptions, with 2. TWO. In 16 games.
PFF ranked them dead last among the 32 teams, rating defensive backs individually bad across the board. Richard Sherman had a rating of 68.9, and the eleven other Niners with 100 snaps or more in the secondary were all lower.
So what did John Lynch do? Nothing. He peeked at his poker hand, looked the other GMs in the eye, and said, “I like these cards.