The San Francisco 49ers emerged victorious from their battle in Seattle, but may have lost some key pieces that could prevent them from winning the overall war of the season. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the PFF grades from Week 1 and see if we can find some things to build on.
Top Graded Offensive Starter: Ricky Pearsall, 77.2
While both George Kittle and Jake Tonges finished with higher grades, the former only played 21 snaps due to injury, and the latter was only able to log 30 snaps. So for the sake of our exercise, we’ll focus on Pearsall, the highest graded full-time player to both start and finish the game.
Going into the year, the 49ers receiver group represented M.A.S.H. unit more than a position group. Pearsall had some buzz as a potential default number one option and quickly validated that attention.
Not only was his grade of 77.2 the best for an offensive starter on the team, it was also the seventh highest grade for anyone at his position group in the NFL. With all of the injuries facing San Francisco's offense, Pearsall may be gearing up for a special season.
Lowest Graded Offensive Starter: Dominick Puni, 51.2
This one was a little surprising to see, but matches the tape. After a very good rookie season as a third round pick, his sophomore debut left something to be desired.
While he was solid as a pass protector (60.4 grade), he was underwhelming in the ground game (48.4). Based off of his rookie season, it’s likely safe to chalk this up as a rusty start more than a portent of large regression.
Top Graded Defensive Starter: Nick Bosa, 82.5
With all of the injuries affecting the offense, it’s nice to see a familiar face still producing at a high level. Ranking out at No. 11 at his position, Bosa provides a consistent high level of play. As long as he stays healthy, that’s something that should continue.
Lowest Graded Defensive Starter: Mykel Williams, 47.0
Let’s preface this by saying that anytime a rookie makes his debut, he should be graded on a curve. The No. 11 overall pick in this past draft, Williams is no different.
While he did flash on tape, he made some mistakes and often looked confused with assignments. Those issues are fixable though, and his grade should improve.
While the 49ers are just hoping to get to Week 2 with at least 22 healthy players at this point, they did have some promising performances. What’s perhaps more comforting is that the poor performers either have a sound track record to fall back on or made very fixable mistakes.