I’ve got my hand on the incredible extensive free agency guide from the folks at Pro Football Focus, and we’re going to make our way through the 49ers’ pending free agents, and perhaps some targets as well, looking at what PFF had to say about them overall. Today, we look at linebacker Brock Coyle.
Coyle probably wasn’t supposed to get much playing time in 2017, but injuries to Reuben Foster and Malcolm Smith forced him onto the field, and I think he performed much better than anybody expected. He was a special teams player buried on the depth chart, and he was average-to-above-average for much of the season.
PFF tracks 4-3 outside linebacker pass-rushing productivity, run-stop percentage, and Coyle is also included in the 3-4 linebacker tackling efficiency ratings. Among free agent OLBs, Coyle ranked first in pass-rush productivity. He had 40 pass rush snaps and had one sack, three quarterback hits and four hurries.
In run-stop percentage, he’s seventh among free agent 4-3 OLBs, with a 5.7 percentage rate. They credit him with 17 stops, with four missed tackles.
Beyond that, they were not hot on Coyle this past season. He received his career low in overall grading (41.3 vs. 73.6 in 2016), run defense (43.5 vs. 72.9 in 2016) and coverage (43.2 vs. 74.9 in 2016). His pass rush was the best of his career, but barely — 54.1 grade vs. 52.7 in 2015.
Coyle doesn’t have a writeup, just those starts. They have him allowing 323 yards on 40 targets, as well as two touchdowns with no passes defensed. They list the Atlanta Falcons as his best fit, with a projected annual guarantee of the veteran minimum. All credit to PFF for tracking the useful stats, so use the link above if you want to see more.
Previous PFF free agency guide articles: RB Carlos Hyde, CB Dontae Johnson, DE Tank Carradine, DE Aaron Lynch