The San Francisco 49ers opened the 2021 preseason on Saturday night by hosting the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi's Stadium. Today, Pro Football Focus released its grades from the game. So who played well and who has a lot more work to do?
It is important to note that many of the starters weren't in the game very long. For example, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played just eight snaps on Saturday night, earning a 64.3 overall grade. A small sample size may not be entirely fair to use while judging the players' performance.
Tight end Joshua Perkins was the highest-graded player (95.5) in the game but only played nine snaps. San Francisco's highest-graded defensive player was defensive end Arden Key, who earned an 88.2 overall grade.
Rookie quarterback Trey Lance was among the lowest-graded offensive players. That may be surprising to some, considering he was part of the most exciting play of the game—an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trent Sherfield. However, Lance finished the game just 5-of-14 for 128 yards while taking four sacks.
"I obviously left a lot of big plays out there," Lance said after the game. "Wish I would've, you know, taken advantage of the opportunities that were given a few times, especially at the end of the half and starting that first drive of the second half."
Below are Pro Football Focus' five highest-graded 49ers players on offense against the Chiefs.
- Joshua Perkins, TE, 95.5, 9 snaps
- Trent Sherfield, WR, 92.5, 9 snaps
- Colton McKivitz, LG, 91.8, 49 snaps
- Dakoda Shepley, C, 82.9, 36 snaps
- Deebo Samuel, WR, 74.5, 8 snaps
Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense.
- Arden Key, DE, 88.2, 18 snaps
- Eddie Yarbrough, DE, 85.0, 35 snaps
- Elijah Sullivan, LB, 81.1, 24 snaps
- Deommodore Lenoir, CB, 79.6, 48 snaps
- Jared Mayden, SS, 78.6, 59 snaps
Below are the three lowest-graded 49ers players on offense.
- Aaron Banks, RG, 29.8, 28 snaps
- Richie James Jr., WR, 44.6, 22 snaps
- Trey Lance, QB, 48.8, 29 snaps
Below are the three lowest-graded 49ers players on defense.
- Kevin Givens, DT, 29.9, 20 snaps
- Darrion Daniels, DT, 42.7, 24 snaps
- Ambry Thomas, CB, 43.2, 44 snaps
