The San Francisco 49ers are set to return from their bye week to face the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi's Stadium in Week 10, marking the beginning of a favorable second-half travel schedule as they have four home games in five weeks.
Standing at 4-4 at the bye week, the 49ers have certainly gone through their ups and downs this season, so let's evaluate the first half in the form I know best: grades.
Here are the midseason awards, both good and bad, for the 49ers thus far on offense.
Most Valuable Player: Brandon Aiyuk
Aiyuk has solidified himself as a top receiver this year, ranking first in yards, touchdowns, receptions, and targets for the 49ers this season.
The third-year receiver currently has gone three straight games with 80+ yards, while posting a fantastic 3.6% drop rate thus far, which is unlike several other 49ers this year.
Aiyuk has continued to improve his route-running capabilities, leading to separation, and is finally being rewarded with a high target share on a consistent basis.
Aiyuk has also been a big factor in San Francisco's quick-game passing attack, which plays to his strength of gaining yards after the catch, helping Jimmy Garoppolo maintain a strong level of efficiency.
Most Improved Player: Aaron Banks
After seeing his fair share of criticism for his lack of playing time in Year 1, guard Aaron Banks has stepped in admirably for veteran Laken Tomlinson, who departed in free agency, forming a strong one-two punch alongside Trent Williams on the left side of the offensive line.
Banks, taken in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, initially was placed in the right guard competition last offseason alongside Daniel Brunskill, but injuries and conditioning ultimately lost him the job.
With a significant change to his body to improve his movement in San Francisco's zone-run scheme, Banks has arguably been San Francisco's second-best offensive lineman this season, while having the most consistency with his health.
In 490 offensive snaps this season, Banks has let to allow a sack, displaying that consistency and providing Jimmy Garoppolo with strong blindside protection that has allowed him to gain more comfortability down the stretch.
Cohesion was the main question surrounding the offensive line heading into the season, but that doesn't appear to be a problem with Banks in the fold, as the second-year guard has shown a level of intelligence in picking up blitzes, which have eased the responsibilities of his fellow offensive linemen.
Most Disappointing Player: Deebo Samuel
As surprising as it may sound, Deebo Samuel has been the most disappointing player for the 49ers offensively, relative to expectations.
After an All-Pro season in 2021, it was expected that Samuel would see some form of regression, but the expectations were still fairly high, given his capabilities both in the running game and the passing game.
Samuel's rushing ability has been mitigated this season, as the star wideout is averaging just 3.78 yards per carry when discluding a 51-yard rush in Week 1, which is well below his average of 6.2 yards per carry in 2021.
Additionally, Samuel has dropped 13% of his passes this season, which is well above his 8.3% mark in 2021 when he hovered around the league leaders in drops, which is why him and Jimmy Garoppolo have connected on just 59% of their passes this season.
Samuel's route-running has appeared to take a step back, which has caused an increase in screen plays and shorter passes for Samuel for him to be effective, as his average depth of target is four yards, in comparison to a strong nine yards per target mark in 2021.
While Samuel continues to be amongst the league's best in yards after the catch, the 49ers' wideout has disappointed in other forms of his game this season, which has placed him in a backseat role to Brandon Aiyuk recently.
Now, Samuel is poised for improvement in the second half of the season after the 49ers acquired star running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers, which will allow Kyle Shanahan to become even more creative with his personnel to create favorable matchups.
Yes. Before I clicked on the article I wondered if you would hold Deebo accountable similiar to as I do. He absolutely has been disappointing and to me his best play has been completely overblown as it was really just multiple defensive breakdowns by the Rams that enabled him on that long catch and run TD.
I always knew AJ Brown was that bull but some of these huge WR contracts are going to really hurt their prospective teams, especially considering all the good WRs that seem to come out every year.
Its a two-fold issue, Deebo not looking as explosive and I guess what Im more worried about, the 49ers evaluation of talent. I dont know if you held Warner to a standard as well but I do and he has not played up to his contract either. If we win a SB its all good but I cant shake this feeling of disaster coming.
When Justin Fields runs for almost 180 yards and looks like Russell Wilson escaping pressure....And it had become clear that KS wanted a running QB to fuel his obsession with his own run game...Well it becomes obvious that they drafted the wrong QB. Lance doesnt run half as well as Fields. My point is if they missed on this, it brings everything into question.
PFF's highest- and lowest-graded 49ers players vs. Saints, plus snap counts
By David Bonilla
Nov 28
The San Francisco 49ers improved their record to 7-4 after a 13-0 win against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12. Today, Pro Football Focus released its grades from the game. Which Niners played well, and who has more work to do?
Below are Pro Football Focus' five highest-graded 49ers players on offense against the Saints.
Jordan Mason, RB, 91.4, 9 snaps
Trent Williams, LT, 84.9, 70 snaps
Jauan Jennings, WR, 78.6, 29 snaps
Ray-Ray McCloud III, WR, 76.9, 7 snaps
Daniel Brunskill, RG, 72.9, 32 snaps
Below are the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense.
Fred Warner, LB, 89.6, 57 snaps
Samson Ebukam, DE, 83.9, 35 snaps
Charvarius Ward, CB, 78.0, 56
49ers Notebook: Nick Bosa sends Kyle Shanahan a curse-filled message; Deebo responds to Raheem Mostert; Shanahan on Trey Lance, QBs; Players praise Brock Purdy
By Kirk Larrabee
10 hrs
There was no shortage of topics to talk about from a 49ers perspective after Sunday's 33-17 win over the Miami Dolphins, and we're going to dive right into them in this edition of 49ers Notebook.
While much of Sunday's postgame discussion dealt with the season-ending foot injury to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the performance of Garoppolo's replacement, Brock Purdy, there were a number of other interesting and entertaining moments we're going to get into here, including some pointed (but friendly) words defensive end Nick Bosa had for head coach Kyle Shanahan and a bit of smack talk from wide receiver Deebo Samuel to former 49ers running back Raheem Mostert. Let's get it started...
Thank S***-talking Kyle Shanahan for Nick Bosa's
'Third and Jauan': 49ers WR Jennings steps up again in the clutch during win over Saints
By Kirk Larrabee
Nov 27
49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings has had a quieter year statistically than some may have expected, considering where he was at the end of the 2021 season. But just as he did in 2021, Jennings stepped up in the clutch Sunday, giving the 49ers multiple huge plays while helping them secure a 13-0 win over the New Orleans Saints.
After catching 16 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns over the final five games of the 2021 regular season, Jennings entered this weekend with 30 catches for 220 yards and zero touchdowns for 2022. But on Sunday he caught six passes for 49 yards while hauling in the game's only touchdown. Jennings also made a key third down catch on the game's final drive that helped run out the clock and seal the win.
Jennings' clutch performance on
49ers practice and media schedule leading to Week 13 matchup vs. Dolphins
By Site Staff
Nov 29
The San Francisco 49ers will hold three full practices this week as the team prepares for its Week 13 matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryan, offensive line/run game coordinator Chris Foerster, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo are scheduled to speak with the media. The 49ers will make the press conferences available at 49ers.com, on the team's official mobile app, and YouTube page.
Below is the schedule, which is subject to change, for the upcoming week. All times are
