Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Two San Francisco 49ers defensive players made
Pro Football Focus' top 10 list of rookies during Week 1. How did the rest of the team do during last night's 28-0 beating of the Los Angeles Rams? A number of 49ers defensive players, and one offensive player, ranked very high within their respective positions according to the advanced analytics site.
Cornerbacks
Tramaine Brock (88.2) and
Jimmie Ward (87.7) ranked third and fifth among all NFL cornerbacks through one week of football. Seattle Seahawks
CB DeShawn Shead graded the highest while Denver Broncos
CB Chris Harris Jr. came in second and Green Bay Packers
CB Damarious Randall came in fourth.
Brock was targeted eight times and allowed only three catches for 16 yards. Rams QB
Case Keenum's passer rating when throwing in Brock's direction was just 45.8.
"This was a poor display of offensive football from both teams, but the 49ers never really allowed the Rams' offense to do anything," said Jordan Plocher of
Pro Football Focus. "San Francisco's defenders on all three levels graded very well against L.A., but expectations of similar performances will have to be tempered, as the Rams have one of the league's worst offenses."
Offensive Tackles
Veteran All-Pro
Joe Staley (83.6) ranked third among all NFL tackles and first among left tackles. That is not a big surprise considering that Staley was the team's highest rated offensive lineman last season and is consistently within the top of the list. He was behind only Pittsburgh Steelers
OT Marcus Gilbert and New York Giants
OT Marshall Newhouse among tackles.
"Staley didn't allow a single pressure on 44 pass-block snaps," said Plocher.
Safeties
Eric Reid (86.8) was not only among the top at his position during Week 1, he was the best graded safety in the NFL. He edged out Los Angeles Rams SS
T.J. McDonald, Arizona Cardinals
SS Tony Jefferson, and even Seattle Seahawks
SS Kam Chancellor.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk owns an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 79.0. That's good enough to rank him as the third highest-graded rookie through Week 10. Only wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings and offensive lineman Michael Onwenu of the New England Patriots rank higher.
"The Niners' first-round rookie was far from productive in his first five games in the NFL, generating just 0.94 yards per route run to pair with a 68.7 receiving grade," wrote Anthony Treash in a recent feature for PFF. "He's been red-hot as of late, though, raising his yards per route run figure to 2.63 and earning a receiving grade of 87.3 over
Brandon Aiyuk's spot on Pro Football Focus' list of highest-graded rookies remains secure despite not having played this weekend. The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver still sits at No. 3 through Week 11, behind only wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings and offensive lineman Michael Onwenu of the New England Patriots.
"The Niners' first-round rookie was far from productive in his first five games in the NFL, generating just 0.94 yards per route run to pair with a
San Francisco 49ers tight end Jordan Reed had one of the best catches of the season on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, it didn't result in a first down, nor did the game end in a victory for his Niners.
The one-handed catch came in the second quarter and featured Reed hauling in the Nick Mullens-thrown football just inches above the turf.
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