The San Francisco 49ers finally got back in the win column in Week 9, crushing the Oakland Raiders 34-3. It looked like it might be competitive on the Raiders opening drive, but their first quarter field goal was all the scoring they got. Nick Mullens was a beast in his NFL debut, and both sides of the ball played out of their minds to dominate Oakland.
Each week, people are curious about Pro Football Focus grades from the game that passed. I am not a huge fan of the subjective aspects of the grading, but they are fun discussion points, and we can figure out some context around the grades. Each week, I’ll take a look at the top five and bottom five graded players on both sides of the ball.
Offense
1. TE George Kittle: 93.0 overall, 94.4 pass catching, 69.7/57.8 pass/run block
2. RB Raheem Mostert: 90.2 overall, 89.1 run
3. WR Pierre Garçon: 80.8 overall, 77.4 pass catching, 77.8 run block
4. TE Ross Dwelley: 75.8 overall, 73.2 pass catching, 69.4/57.7 pass/run block
5. WR Richie James: 69.8 overall, 69.7 pass catching, 58.8 run block
21. TE Garrett Celek: 47.3 overall, 54.1 pass catching, 51.0 run block
20. RB Alfred Morris: 51.7 overall
19. LG Laken Tomlinson: 56.7 overall, 76.5/52.8 pass/run block
18. WR Marquise Goodwin: 56.8 overall
17. RB Matt Breida: 57.4 overall
We had a tight end at the top of the list and a tight end at the bottom of the list. While George Kittle has emerged as a potential All Pro tight end, Garrett Celek has struggled to get going. Among players who have appeared in a majority of regular season games, he ranks second to last in PFF grading ahead of only Weston Richburg. Meanwhile, Ross Dwelley had a solid performance in limited work. I don’t expect Dwelley to supplant Celek on the depth chart this year, but hopefully we see a little more of him the final seven weeks.
Quarterback Nick Mullens is not on the list, but was the next player after Richie James. For Week 9, Mullens ranked No. 1 in passer rating and 14th in PFF’s passing grade. He ranked seventh in adjusted completion percentage, and ranked last in number of dropbacks in which he faced pressure. If he faces the Giants this week, he should face a slightly better defense.
Defensive top 5
1. LB Dekoda Watson: 91.8 overall, 90.8 pass rush
2. DE Cassius Marsh: 87.8 overall, 86.8 pass rush
3. DT DeForest Buckner: 80.6 overall, 74.7 run, 63.7 pass rush
4. LB Malcolm Smith: 76.3 overall, 75.2 coverage, 75.1 pass rush
5. CB Richard Sherman: 76.2 overall, 76.8 coverage
21. DT D.J. Jones: 28.4 overall
20. SS Tyvis Powell: 55.2 overall, 50.2 coverage, 76.8 tackling
19. DT Sheldon Day: 58.1 overall, 66.8 tackling, 53.5 pass rush
18. LB Elijah Lee: 59.7 overall, 58.6 tackling, 55.8 coverage
17. DT Solomon Thomas: 60.0 overall, 72.8 tackling, 57.9 pass rush
Welcome back, Dekoda Watson! The 49ers linebacker opened the season on IR, but made a quick impact on his return. He had 1.5 sacks and four hurries, teaming with Cassius Marsh to stay in Derek Carr’s grill all evening long.
On the other end of things, the strong safety position will look to get Jaquiski Tartt back from his shoulder injury. Tyvis Powell has struggled big time the past two weeks replacing him. Tartt was a DNP all last week, so we will keep an eye out for this week’s injury report after a few extra days of rest.