The 49ers are 4-0, and the temptation to sprint ahead is obvious. After their most impressive win of the season against the Denver Broncos, the easy move is to treat the first month like proof of everything. But four games is still four games, and that’s exactly why the early returns are setting up a handful of overreactions.
Start with the draft class. It’s way too soon to stamp it a bust, but it also hasn’t exactly burst out of the gate.
De’Zhaun Stribling is hurt. Kaelon Black had more rushing yards in Week 1 than he did in Weeks 2-4 combined.
Romello Height has only three pressures on 65 pass rush attempts, and his win rate is lower than Ogbo Okonkwo and Keion White. Right now, the best picks look like Gracen Halton and Jaden Dugger.
That’s not the kind of opening month anyone wanted.
The offense, though, keeps showing how much it misses pieces when they disappear. Juszczyk may not have been filling up the stat sheet on paper, but he remains the kind of player who changes how defenses have to line up.
He can block, run, and catch passes, and that kind of versatility forces opponents to think about personnel every snap. With Juszczyk now on the injury list alongside Jake Tonges, the 49ers were already leaning harder on him after Tonges went down.
Without Tonges, there isn’t another strong replacement waiting in the wings.
Then there’s George Kittle, who is starting to look like he’s only scratching the surface. In his first game back from his Achilles injury, he managed just 12 receiving yards.
Since then, he’s averaged 77 yards per game over the next three weeks. If that pace held over a full season, it would be the second-best rate of his career.
And if he keeps getting healthier, the numbers could climb even higher.
The unbeaten start also comes with a warning label about the level of competition. Denver looked like a tough test, but the Broncos quickly lost both cornerbacks, including Patrick Surtain, the best player on their team.
The 49ers have also beaten a tired Rams team, two of the worst teams in the NFL, and now a Broncos group that lost major names during the game. So the question hangs there: have they really been tested yet?
Even at 4-0, the roster still has obvious soft spots. Any of the defensive line positions could be upgraded.
Receiver, tight end, and now even fullback could be addressed. The record is perfect, but the holes are still real.
The 49ers need to buy at the deadline.
In Other News...
49ers Got The Kyle Juszczyk Injury News They Desperately Needed
Kyle Juszczyks knee injury looked far worse in the moment, but the 49ers avoided the kind of outcome that can reshape a season. The Pro Bowl fullback was hurt against the Broncos and later learned the MRI showed no ligament damage, easing fears around a play that had plenty of people bracing for a longer absence.
Juszczyk is still expected to miss two to three weeks after suffering a hyperextended knee, capsule sprain and minor bone bruise, which likely rules him out for the Seahawks game. Even so, the door is open for a return before the end of October, a useful bit of news for a San Francisco offense that leans on his versatility and physical presence in the run game and around the goal line. [Read more 🡒]
John Lynch Could Have One More Aggressive Move In Mind
The 49ers have been surviving the kind of stretch that tends to test a rosters depth as much as its talent, stacking wins even while dealing with injuries that have complicated the week-to-week picture. That kind of success can make a front office hesitate, but it can also sharpen the sense that the current group is close enough to justify a little more help before the season gets much deeper.
With the November 10 trade deadline looming, John Lynch could still have one aggressive move left to make if he decides the run should be supported rather than merely managed. The names tied to that conversation point in a few different directions, from defensive tackle Daron Payne to wide receiver Quentin Johnston to edge rushers Za'Darius Smith and Khalil Mack, which says plenty about the range of ways San Francisco could try to bolster itself without waiting for the market to come to it. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Injury Report Brings Early Concern And One Intriguing Possibility
The first Week 5 practice brought an early dose of concern for San Francisco, with five players sitting out as the 49ers started preparing for Seattle. Nick Bosa, James Thompson, Kyle Juszczyk, Marques Sigle, and Upton Stout were all absent, while Mykel Williams, Mike Evans and Kaelon Black took part on a limited basis as the team tried to sort through an injury list that already had some familiar names on it.
Williams is the most intriguing piece of the group, since a return to the field could be on the table after he worked his way back from injury. Coach Kyle Shanahan also said Stout is day-to-day with a shoulder issue, which at least gives the 49ers some reason to keep a close eye on the week rather than assume the early absences will define it. [Read more 🡒]