Samson Ebukam revealed one goal heading into the 2022 NFL season.
"Definitely getting more than [4.5 sacks]," the pass rusher said in August. "I know that for a fact this season."
That's because Ebukam, at the time, entering his sixth NFL season, had never surpassed 4.5 sacks in a single season. In fact, he was coming off three consecutive seasons of reaching that mark but never getting over the hurdle.
Ebukam reached 4.5 sacks again on December 15, 2022, against the Seattle Seahawks, with only three games left to play.
"It's been unfortunate," Ebukam said after the next game, still stuck at 4.5 sacks. "I've been so close. So many times. Everything happens in God's plan, so I'm not really stressing too much about it. I have in the past. I feel like some big things are about to happen these next two games, for sure."
Then, in the final game of the season, this happened.
Ebukam set a new personal career-high with five sacks after officially being credited for half a sack on that play against the Arizona Cardinals. His five sacks ranked second on the team with only the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Bosa, surpassing him with an astounding 18.5 sacks.
This week, NFL.com named Ebukam the one "unheralded player" the 49ers cannot allow to hit the free-agency market.
"To smooth the transition at defensive coordinator from DeMeco Ryans (who left to coach the Texans) to Steve Wilks, the 49ers should try to maintain their dominant pass rush," wrote the Next Gen Stats Analytics team. "Ebukam has been the starting edge defender opposite Nick Bosa since signing a two-year pact with San Francisco in 2021, and he held his weight on the defense's right side in 2022.
"Ebukam generated a 14.8 percent pressure rate last season, seventh-highest among defenders with at least 300 pass rushes. He was able to do this while primarily aligning across from left tackles, allowing Bosa to take advantage of right tackles during his Defensive Player of the Year campaign."
Ebukam is one of 21 49ers players slated to become an unrestricted free agent on March 15.
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