Edge rusher Samson Ebukam, after officially signing a two-year, $ 12 million contract on Friday with 49ers, said he had a simple expectation.
“I’m going to start,” he said in a video conference with reporters from the Bay Area.
Ebukam (pronounced EH-boo-kahm) has spent the last four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, where he started in 35 of the 64 games he played. He registered 14 bags, relying mainly on raw talent and effort.
“I’m definitely not a technician because I saw a movie,” said Ebukam. “I know that I am not a coach. It is just the effort and being relentless and always finding a way to always get to the quarterback.
“That’s what I really like is getting to the quarterback and taking him down. It stops all momentum from everything that the crime is doing. So I think this is the number one thing, a high engine. “
Ebukam, a pick from the fourth round of the 2017 draft of East Washington, showed flashes in the NFL. He scored two touchdowns – one on an interception and one on a fumble return – in Rams’ memorable 54-51 victory in 2018 over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ebukam apparently has a lot of room to grow with the 49ers under defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. He believes he can also learn from Nick Bosa, who is considered a next-level coach for such a young player.
“To have that kind of person around me, like him (Kocurek) and Bosa, I’m just going to watch and learn and adapt and overcome everything and get to the quarterback faster,” he said.
Ebukam appears to be a student willing to learn from Kocurek, considered one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL.
“I’ve already started talking to Coach K, and he’s just trying to make sure that I’m going down the first step,” said Ebukam. “He knows I’m fast and thinks, ‘When you go down the first step, you’re going to shoot and lose your position just to get to the quarterback much faster.’ “
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With Dee Ford’s future in question, the 49ers seem to be relying on Ebukam to see considerably more playing time than the Rams. He played 36 percent of Rams’ defensive strokes last season.
“From what I’ve been told, I’m expected to be in that field and, yes, I’m excited to hear that because it’s just another opportunity for me to show what I can do.”
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