For much of the season, the San Francisco 49ers have been in the top three when it comes to playing time for rookies. Nobody would have guessed that Connor Colby would have played the most snaps among all of the first-year players through eight weeks. And if you thought Marques Sigle would be second, you’re either a liar or a Kansas State alum.
The team is putting a lot on its first-round pick, Mykel Williams, who played a season-high in snaps against the Texans last week. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he wishes the Niners could take some of the workload off Mykel’s plate:
“I think Mykel’s just playing a lot of football. He’s doing stuff outside. He is doing stuff inside. I would love for us to be able to take some plays off of him. We tried too hard last week. With all those guys going down, I think he still end up getting 40. But, just going through this League and all the experience he is doing and fighting through some injuries and fighting through a lot of playing time, I think he’s growing a lot.”
Williams was never going to impress out of the gate as a pass rusher. That wasn’t his game at Georgia. He was brought in to improve the 49ers’ run defense, and he’s done just that.
As of earlier this month, the 49ers’ rushing success rate was nearly 11 percentage points worse with Williams off the field, and the explosive run rate jumped from 4.9 percent to 11.8 percent without Mykel on the field. Suffice to say, he’s a difference maker, just not in the flashy way that makes highlight reels.
Shanahan was asked how the rookie class has helped up to date, and how he can make sure they continue to ascend:
“I think they’ve kind of exceeded expectations to tell you the truth. We knew we were going to throw them out there a lot, but we thought we’d have more other guys to help bring him along. Just losing some of those guys has been tough. I think Mykel’s hardest thing is that he missed training camp too with an injury. So, for him to battle throughout this whole year and missing training camp has been really impressive. Guys like Alfred got the whole training camp, so I think he was a little bit more prepared going into the season because he wasn’t hurt all of training camp. But, it’s been awesome for those guys to battle each week and be able to show up and play because It’d be really hard without them.”
We’re seeing the rookie class learn on the fly. There’s no shame in failure as a first-year player.
Marques Sigle played quality snaps in every game before not stepping onto the field last week. Shanahan said, “It was because Mustapha. We went 20 plays first game, 40 plays second game, and then we thought he could start the third game. So that was just about Mustapha.”
We have eyes. Sigle gave up too many big plays in coverage for him to be reliable. However, a week after both Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha did the same, the door might be open for Sigle to return to the field. Then again, one rookie starting is already a big ask; two is pushing it.
We’re also seeing signs of growth. Alfred Collins, by necessity, has seen his snap percentage climb from 50 percent to 61 percent to 68 percent last week. To me, Collins is the rookie who is closest to breaking out. He had a pair of run stops against the Texans, including a play where he tossed the right guard out of the way. Collins has a pressure in three of the past four games. It’s a stretch to call him a breakout candidate, but the flashes are there.
During Week 7, some fans were ready to pull the plug on Upton Stout. He had given up a couple of catches, and that was enough to put Chase Lucas in. Their wish was granted once Stout left briefly with a shoulder injury. Lucas gave up a first-down target and nearly fell.
We’re not going to pretend like Upton has been Stout in coverage. He’s playing one of the most difficult positions in the NFL. Last game, he allowed five receptions on five targets for 42 yards. But he also had nine tackles, four for stops, a near sack, while hustling all over the field:
That is not the kind of player you want to take off the field. Stout and the rest of the rookie class are well on their way to productive careers. Failure is a part of the process.
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