How does recent trade addition Khalil Davis fit the 49ers defensive line?

The San Francisco 49ers made only one move at the trade deadline, adding defensive tackle Khalil Davis from the Houston Texans for a 2026 seventh-round pick in a low-cost move.

Going into the deadline, it was unclear what approach the 49ers would take, as the team has gone bold in the past, like with the Christian McCaffrey move, while also looking for low-risk additions as well, such as the move they made on Tuesday.

The defensive line appeared to be a priority and that's where the 49ers tended to with their one trade, as Davis is expected to shore up some interior snaps as a part of the team's rotation.

Where does the 28-year-old addition fit into the 49ers defense?

"Where he fits in, we'll see," defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said on Thursday. "We still want to see some more. I think he's just had the one shorter practice yesterday without pads. The cool thing is, he is an explosive guy, he's twitched-up, he's been in our system and he's had production. So we'll just kind of go from there and figure out how he fits. It's always good to add depth to a position like that of a good player."

Davis had played in 32 percent of the defensive snaps this season for the Texans, operating in primarily a pass-rushing role. Of his 172 snaps, 102 came in pass-rushing situations.

The 28-year-old had a solid three-week stretch between Weeks 6-8, as Davis accumulated five pressures, four stops, and a sack during that period, while seeing his biggest workload of the year against the New England Patriots (35 snaps) in Week 6.

Coming to San Francisco, Davis joins a deeper interior rotation for the 49ers that has Maliek Collins, Kevin Givens, Jordan Elliott, Kalia Davis, and Evan Anderson already. With how low-cost the move is for San Francisco, it's not expected that Davis jumps into a big role for the 49ers, but rather serves as back-end depth, as well as injury insurance if the team needs.

San Francisco has dealt with some injuries at the position, as starter Javon Hargrave tore his right triceps and is likely out for the year, while Elliott has dealt with various issues of his own as well.

According to PFF, Davis has just a 7.3 percent pass-rush win rate on the season, totaling eight pressures on the year in 102 pass-rushing snaps. For reference, every defensive lineman for the 49ers, outside of Elliott, has eclipsed that in their sample sizes this year.

Nonetheless, this move is more about San Francisco trusting the players they have to return from injury, as the 49ers elected not to invest more into this roster at the midseason mark amid their 4-4 record.

Certain players seem to be on the way back, as practice windows for Christian McCaffrey, Jon Feliciano, and Yetur Gross-Matos were all opened this week, providing a boost for the team at their respective positions.

With a quick turnaround, it's unclear whether Davis will see the field on Sunday, but he could claw his way into the backend of the rotation as the season continues along.