Ethan Waugh is a Personnel Executive for the 49ers. He has been with the team for 17 seasons. Waugh started as a scout and rode that until he became the personnel assistant. He was the senior player personnel coordinator as well, and he currently oversees the college scouting staff.

Aaron Schatz of ESPN.com highlighted the 49ers' biggest weakness entering the playoffs, and it has the 49ers badly missing Bosa. Their pass rush is struggling, and it could prove to be an issue in the playoffs this season.

San Francisco 49ers on defense. They have barely been average, and that's being generous. There isn't much positivity to be s

Week 18 battle-tested as John Lynch details why tough late-season matchups prepare San Francisco for a playoff run and a shot at the NFC's top seed.

If the 49ers had made a push for Phillips or some other edge rusher in November, they might have lost a third-round pick in April. Meh. That seems like a tiny price to have a modicum of an edge pass rush in a postseason in which any team can realistically win the Super Bowl.

Teams that have started Sam Darnold have gone 27-6 in the past two seasons. However, the Minnesota Vikings saw Darnold start to fade before his worst two games closed out the season and the San Francisco 49ers are hoping to get the same outcome in Week 18 this year.