Aaron Lynch Returning to Nice Matchup in Week 5

Aaron Lynch is back in Week 5 against the Cardinals and has a nice matchup against a young right tackle as the 49ers look to end a three-game skid.

After a four-week suspension, Aaron Lynch returns to boost the 49ers’ pass rush on Thursday and will look to make an impact for a team that is once again struggling to get the quarterback on the ground.

The 49ers have generated pressure, much of which has come from the guys on the interior of the defensive line, but have only seven sacks on the year, good for No. 19 in the league in that category

Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner continue to create significant issues for opposing offensive lines with their sheer size, the latter – who is out against the Cardinals – registering one hit and three hurries of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the loss to Dallas, according to Pro Football Focus.

However, it is clear the 49ers have lacked an edge player capable of taking advantage of the havoc that duo cause.

Lynch provides such an edge presence and, even with rookie first-rounder Buckner unavailable, the former fifth-round pick should be in line for a productive return versus Cardinals right tackle D.J. Humphries.

The Cardinals’ offensive line is ranked at No. 23 in the league in pass protection by Football Outsiders and Humphries – drafted in the first round in 2015 – has been a big part of their struggles.

Humphries has allowed Carson Palmer to be put under pressure throughout the opening four games, the former Florida tackle struggling mightily due to a clearly evident lack of athleticism.

Inside moves are a big issue for Humphries, whose limitations showed up straight away in the opener with the New England Patriots. Here Humphries is beaten by the inside move of Jabaal Sheard and subsequently pulled the linebacker down by his facemask.

Where Humphries has most of his difficulties when pass protecting is when he is confronted by speed. Jerry Hughes provided an illustration of Humphries’ problems against speed rushers in the Buffalo Bills’ dominant win over the Cardinals in Week 3.

Hughes twice flew by Humphries for sacks, only to see this first effort called back because of a penalty.

But Hughes gets to Palmer again, with a quick swim move enabling him to blow by Humphries once more.

And, though only one sack counted, both provided a window into Humphries’ main issue when trying to protect against speed, which is that he tends to abandon his generally impressive footwork and lurch forward in a vain attempt to get his hands on the pass rusher.

Humphries lacks the athletic ability to deal with athletes of the ilk of Hughes and his inexperience at the NFL level leads to plays like this, where he fails to recognize the stunt and is unable to recover in time to prevent the sack in last weekend’s defeat to the Los Angeles Rams.

Under Jim Harbaugh, a staple of the 49ers defense was a stunt they ran with Justin Smith and Aldon Smith, and it worked to devastating effect.

That same stunt remains a feature of the Niners defense and was successful in Week 1 against the Rams, Armstead drawing the attention of multiple blockers and putting Ahmad Brooks in position to swoop in and bring down Case Keenum.

Brooks leads the 49ers with two of San Francisco’s sacks this season but Lynch presents a much more daunting prospect for Humphries given his physical abilities.

Fresh having had four weeks off since the preseason, Lynch – per Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee – has lost 30 pounds he packed on while his wife was pregnant and is back at 270 pounds.

If Lynch is at a peak level of conditioning then that is excellent news for the 49ers and extremely bad news for Humphries considering Lynch’s previous exploits in pursuing the quarterback.

Lynch only had 6.5 sacks last year but missed two games through injury and, when at his best, possesses the skill set to threaten double-digit sacks on a regular basis.

The South Florida product explodes off the snap, gets up to full speed in a hurry and has the strong hands to swat away pass protectors, as he does on this play, making Packers tackle Don Barclay look foolish.

Lynch took advantage when faced with bad offensive lines in 2015, posting two-sack games against both the Packers and the Seahawks.

Green Bay was ranked No. 23 in pass protection in 2015 by Football Outsiders, who rated Seattle’s O-Line No. 30 in the same area.

Arizona’s O-Line appears to be of a similar pedigree this year and Lynch, with his speed off the snap, should be able to force Humphries to abandon his footwork in the same way that Alvin Bailey did when he failed to stop the outside linebacker on this play in the 49ers’ 2015 Thursday Night Football encounter with the Seahawks.

After missing an opening quarter of the season in which the Niners have gone 1-3, Lynch will surely be itching to get back on to the field and make an impact.

Likely lining up at left outside linebacker Lynch is in position to take full advantage of Humphries’ shortcomings in what is in a very strong matchup for him.

It may not be enough to earn the 49ers’ the victory, but Lynch should be in for a big night on a primetime stage.

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