PFF grades and snap counts: Aiyuk and Verrett lead the way for the 49ers

We’ve gone over the good, bad, and ugly from the 49ers' loss to Washington. Now, it’s time to take a look at some of the snap counts and PFF grades from Sunday. Let’s start with the defense for a change.

Defense - 63 snaps

Fred Warner went out, which meant Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles had to fill in for the All-Pro linebacker. Armstead, Hyder, and Jordan played a lot of snaps percentage-wise, but that’s going to be the case for the rest of the season. There have been games this season where the former two have played in the high 60s snap count wise.

Five-highest graded defenders

Dre Greenlaw - 75.7
Jason Verrett - 75.3
Tarvarius Moore - 65.4
Richard Sherman - 65.1
Jimmie Ward - 64.7

Greenlaw has played faster in recent weeks, and four of his six solo tackles ended up as stops as a result. Greenlaw also allowed 17 yards on four targets.

The secondary gave up nothing. Washington’s longest completion against the 49ers' secondary was 12 yards. They didn’t have a pass breakup, but Verrett’s interception couldn’t have come at a better time. Sherman’s numbers look good as he was targeted five times and only allowed one completion, but Terry McLaurin beat him two other times. Thankfully, both throws were off target.

Five-lowest graded defenders

Dion Jordan - 53.3
Kentavius Street - 46.4
Javon Kinlaw - 41.6
Fred Warner - 41.3
Dontae Johnson - 36.5

Jordan shouldn’t be playing 49 snaps in an NFL game. He had a sack and two stops, so I won’t be too harsh on him. Street’s run defense continues to be an issue as offenses easily move Street off his spot. Kinlaw flashed and had four stops, but he’s another guy that gets moved too easily.

When your defensive line gets pushed around, your linebackers will struggle. I wonder how much that factors into Warner’s grade. Johnson gave up three receptions on six targets for 18 yards but had a 39.5 coverage grade. Johnson also missed four tackles, all of which were likely near the line of scrimmage.

Offense - 81 snaps

When Trent Williams went down, a “are you freaking kidding me” moment among all 49ers fans. Thankfully, Williams only missed one play. Naturally, there was a sack allowed.

Tevin Coleman played one more snap than Deebo Samuel, and that was because both Mostert and Wilson Jr. were hurt. Jerick McKinnon didn’t see the field.

Five-highest graded 49ers

Trent Williams - 77.6
Brandon Aiyuk 76.5
Ross Dwelley - 72.8
Raheem Mostert - 70.6
Mike McGlinchey - 67.9

The 49ers surrendered 17 pressures, but Mullens was charged with six of them. McGlinchey was charged with two, while Williams allowed one. It felt like McGlinchey was beaten more than twice. Williams continues to excel as a run blocker as he had a few blocks there were eyebrow-raising, in a good way.

Aiyuk had a drop, and I imagine that’s why his grade isn’t higher. As a receiver, he did everything you could ask and made some difficult catches in traffic. If you overthrow Aiyuk, with those inspector gadget arms, that’s on you. Aiyuk had ten receptions, seven of which went for first downs.

I can’t entirely agree with Dwelley’s grade, but I’m working off memory and have yet to rewatch the game. I seem to recall multiple costly missed blocks from the backup tight end, though.

Mostert had a reception for six yards where he ran a route out of the backfield. It felt like the 49ers' offense had that matchup all day, but they never went back to it. On the ground, Mostert averaged 4.6 yards per carry on 14 attempts. Fifty of Mostert’s 65 yards came after contact. He also ran for four first downs. Mostert said he wouldn’t be 100% for the rest of the season, but he continues to run hard and create for himself.

Five-lowest graded offensive players

Laken Tomlinson - 58.7
Charlie Woerner - 50.3
Nick Mullens - 48.7
Jeff Wilson Jr. - 44.8
Jordan Reed - 40.8

Tomlinson had his worst game from a grade standpoint in a long, long time. Tomlinson had a 39.4 pass-blocking grade and gave up three QB hits.

Wilson Jr. is a restricted free agent. His vision is great, and Wilson Jr. runs hard enough to be the team’s short-yardage back, but he has two fumbles in his past 30 carries, and this is nothing new.

Reed’s burst is no longer there, and if he’s dropping the ball, there’s not much value to having Reed on the field. Reed added a penalty and caught two of his four targets for 13 yards. The problem is he’s not creating after the catch, and that’s what this offense asks of its wideouts.

Mullens was inaccurate and did not get any help from his wideouts at the same time. There were five drops from the receivers on Sunday. That can be true while acknowledging Mullens thought he had ten seconds to throw on every play. PFF credited Mullens for four sacks. He also had four of his passes batted and refused to throw the ball on time. It’s maddening, but this is what happens with a backup quarterback, so we shouldn’t have high expectations.