Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Sunday, March 17th, 2024
Wide receiver Chris Conley stays with 49ers after stepping up in postseason (paywall)
“Conley, a nine-year veteran, likely earned his 2024 return in the postseason after he spent time on the practice squad and played just 110 snaps in eight regular-season games, collecting three catches for 65 yards. Conley had a 17-yard catch on the 49ers’ game-winning, 69-yard touchdown drive in their 24-21 win over Green Bay. He then had an 18-yard catch in their 25-22 overtime loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, but he made his biggest mark as a special-teams gunner.
Conley had two tackles, stopping punt returner Richie James after runbacks of zero and five yards, and downed a punt at Kansas City’s 2-yard line.”
“Yiadom’s parents hail from Ghana. He was born in Alexandria, Virginia, then moved to live with his father in Massachusetts after his mother passed away when he was a high school freshman.
His road to the NFL has helped make his family’s journey into a success story.
“It was hard for my dad to come over here first, and then he ended up bringing my mom, and then they ended up having me and my three other siblings,” Yiadom told KHOU-TV in 2022. “Of course, coming from any other country, America is the dream. So the American dream — came here, my dad started a family, grinded his ass off trying to work every single day; my mom as well. I feel like for my dad and my mom to see me in the NFL now, it makes them so proud because something they came here to do was have kids and make sure their kids were successful and not live a hard life like they did growing up. I’m happy I’m able to make my dad and my parents proud all the time. They look back on their kids and are able to smile.””
“Despite him saying at a young age that he wanted to be a football player, Campbell didn’t get deep into the sport until high school, which helped lead to him being lightly recruited. But coaches saw potential in Campbell, who went on a growth spurt from 5-9 to 6-2 in high school. He also had unique speed, which gave him a needed confidence boost.
Once, at the Lee County Athletic Conference track meet, Campbell raced future NFL receiver Sammy Watkins, who was a well-known recruit with colleges from all over the country coming after his services. Campbell ran neck and neck with Watkins, and may or may not have come out ahead.”
New 49ers CB Yiadom has eye-popping success in press coverage
“Yiadom, 6-foot-1, stands out on the graph’s right peak beyond stars Sauce Gardner and A.J. Terrell, strongly performing with a press coverage rate of over 40 percent.
During the 2023 NFL season, Yiadom was a force in close-contact situations with wide receivers, owning a 30.4-percent incompletion rate.
He also tied for the seventh-most passes defended (14) despite only starting eight games. His new 49ers teammate, Charvarius Ward, led the NFL with 23 PDUs over 17 starts.”
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