5 Takeaways From 49ers Preseason Week 2
Week 2 of the 49ers Preseason featured more starters and shorter rotations as the Regular Season gets closer. The QB 2 battle heats up and some young defenders show out versus the Broncos.
Week 2 of the 49ers Preseason saw the return of old foe Russel Wilson and his Denver Broncos to Levi’s Stadium. The starters got their first reps of the season and more than looked the part. In the second half the 49ers staged a big time 4th Quarter comeback that saw some big time plays from some young players fighting for playing time.
Takeaway #1: Trey Lance Shows Improvement
After a rough Week 1 showing versus Las Vegas the microscope was firmly on Trey Lance in Week 2. Lance and Darnold flipped roles vs Denver with Lance entering as QB3 late in the 3rd Quarter and he answered his critics by delivering a strong bounce back performance. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 173 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT, 0 Sacks and a game winning 4th Quarter Drive.
It didn’t start out pretty for Lance again in Week 2. He repeated more of the same mistakes as last week, he struggled to read coverages, confidently hit open targets, and his accuracy and decision making was up and down. The most costly of his throws was an INT on his first drive where he left a screen pass short, leading to a deflected ball and turnover.
Lance’s play improved the longer the game went and the more reps he got. After converting a big 3rd and 13 to rookie TE Cam Latu he seemed to gain confidence and subsequently caught fire. The next play he showed off his arm talent and some strong decision making to find his hot route, WR Willie Snead, over the middle in the face of a free rusher.
The rest of the drive featured arguably Lance’s best string of throws from his young 49ers career, marching the offense right down the field. The drive culminated on a TD pass to TE Cam Latu for his 6th straight completion that brought the 49ers within 2 point with under 3 minutes to go. In the clip of the TD pass below you can see Lance look off the FS, who is in a Middle Field Closed look with Deep 1/3 responsibility, before firing a strike up the seam.
Lance’s best throw of the night came on the 49ers game winning drive. Working in a 2 minute drill and with pressure in his face he found WR Ronnie Bell on a deep In-Route for a massive gain to set up the game winning field goal. Throwing a ball with anticipation that sets up YAC is a vital key to success in the 49ers offense and is exactly what Lance needs to show to earn more playing time.
Lance was far from perfect on Saturday night but took a massive step in the right direction, showing improvements from last week and earlier in the game as time wore on. The job of QB1 is out of reach at this time but with another strong performance in Week 3 against the LA Chargers Lance has a great chance to win the backup role heading into the season.
Takeaway #2: Tyrion Davis-Price w/ a Jekyll & Hyde Performance
The RB 1 & 2 spots for the 49ers are locked up by Christian McCaffery and Elijah Mitchell but the battle for RB3 is a hotly contested battle between 2022 UDFA Jordan Mason and 2022 3rd Round pick Tyrion Davis-Price. Davis-Price was the best runner on the field Saturday averaging 5.5 YPC as well as showing his vision and balance on a late 15 yard scamper (see below) to set up a game winning field goal.
His pass protection, however left much to be desired. Davis-Price blew multiple pick ups on 3rd down with his worst being the clip below where he whiffs a free rusher leading to QB Brock Purdy being sacked in the red zone.
Davis-Price is looking to rebound from a tough rookie year that saw him only appear in 6 games. If he wants to take the RB3 job from Jordan Mason, who played in 16 games last year due to his Special Teams value and trust from the coaching staff, he will need to put together more complete game than what he showed on Saturday.
Takeaway #3: Starting Defense Has New Look Secondary
Heading into the 2023 season the 49ers starting secondary was expected to stay the same with one exception. Following the departure of long time SAF Jimmie Ward, Isaiah Oliver was brought in on a 2 year, 6.75 million dollar deal from the Atlanta Falcons to take over the role of NCB. Oliver struggled in Week 1 as a coverage player and again in Week 2, with his worst play being a missed tackle on a 3rd & 8 play (see below). New DC Steve Wilks indicated Oliver’s practice performances have not been much better, which is what lead to a shake up in the starting DB unit.
The starting DB unit on Saturday featured former 3rd Round Pick and Week 1 standout Ambry Thomas at RCB opposite Charvarius Ward with 2022 starting RCB Deommodore Lenoir shifting inside and playing all 6 of his snaps in the slot. Thomas (#20) gave up one big completion at the end of the 1st half but was otherwise excellent, averaging a team best 22 Snaps/Rec and 11 Snaps/TGT. He showed his ability to not only play outside CB but the slot as well, his best rep coming on a play where he was to run stride for stride with WR Jerry Jeudy on a deep crosser on 3rd down.
Thomas wasn’t the only young CB who excelled for the 49ers on Saturday. 2022 5th Round Pick Samuel Womack (#0) followed up a solid Week 1 with a tremendous Week 2 performance. He allowed 0 Rec on 10.2 Snaps/TGT, with a 39.6 Passer Rating when targeted and 2 PBU, one of which he almost took to the house.
Womack is a player who is looking to fight for reps as an outside and slot CB, which means he has to be able to hang run game responsibilities as well. Despite being listed at 5’10”, 190 lbs Womack showed now fear in the run game on Saturday, making multiple big hits, including the one below.
The performance of the young CBs for the 49ers in the preseason has added a layer of depth and flexibility to a unit that was a potential question mark coming into the year. The starting unit still has 2 weeks to be figured out but the coaching staff has to feel better about it’s options after two weeks of Preseason play.
Takeaway #4: Ji’Ayir Brown Shows Off Coverage Skills & Effort
The other addition to the starting secondary on Saturday was 2023 3rd Round Pick SAF Ji’Ayir Brown. Starting FS Tashaun Gipson enjoys the veteran benefit of not having to play in preseason games which gives the rookie plenty of reps to show his wares. Brown (#27) lead the defense in snaps with 33 in Week 2, logging 2 tackles and only allowing a 56.3 Passer Rating when targeted. He looked like a young copy of Gipson, despite his average athleticism he showed excellent coverage instincts. The clip below shows him and starting SS Talanoa Hufanga perfectly picking up a pair of crossing routes from deep Quarters coverage.
Brown also displayed tremendous hustle on late 1st half tackle to save 7 points before the half.
The starting spots in the 49ers SAF room as currently locked up but in a league that lives in Nickel and Dime personnel, Brown should find himself playing meaningful snaps if he continues to show the mental processing and competitive toughness he has put on tape the past two weeks.
Takeaway #5: Backup Defensive Lineman Show Flashes
The strength of the 49ers top ranked defense in 2022 was largely a result of their stellar defensive line. With the loses of their 2nd and 3rd sack leaders Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu there are rotational reps to be won with preseason performances. Three players T.Y. McGill, Marlon Davidson and Austin Bryant all showed flashes of potentially being able to provide impact snaps for the 49ers in 203.
The journey man IDL McGill (#96), finished with 2 Run Stops, 2 Pressures and 1 Sack on Saturday while featuring a 21.4% Win Rate. His best rep came on a Red Zone sack, where he used a swipe move and excellent finishing burst to take down the QB in the backfield.
Former 2nd Round Pick, Marlon Davidson (#62) was also a disruptive force on the interior vs the Broncos. He finished with 2 Pressures, 1 Sack and 1 Run Stop himself. The clip below shows exceptional hustle and athletic ability from a 300+ pound IDL.
The best EDGE defender for the 49ers on Saturday was former 2019 4th Round Pick Austin Bryant. Bryant (#56) showed good burst and speed rush ability from the Wide-9 alignment. He finished with 3 Pressures on a 15.8% Win Rate.
The 49ers starting defensive line is about as good as it comes but even they need a breather over the course of the game. Showing the capability to impact the opposing team’s QBs even in a limited role is vital for a team looking to make it through a 17+ game season. The performances of McGill, Davidson and Bryant on Saturday are massive for three players who are looking to make a roster.
Bonus Takeaways:
Ronnie Bell with another positive performance logging 7 REC for 114 yards and 70 yards of YAC. He did have another bad drop and does need to work on attacking the ball on comebacks but another good performance increased his roster chances.
Javon Hargrave makes his presence felt in limited first snaps. He had 1 Pressure and 12.5% Win Rate on 8 snaps, demonstrating his dominance on the inside, especially from the 2i.
Qwuantrezz Knight showed effort and physical toughness as a NCB (1 Snap), FS (5 Snaps) and SS/LB (8 Snaps) in both run and pass game.