The 49ers got a long look at their depth on defense in Thursday’s preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans, and the biggest takeaways came in the trenches and in the back end. Bryson Eason and Gracen Halton were the most disruptive bodies up front, while Ephesians Prysock carried the heaviest load in the secondary with 53 snaps.
Raheem Morris spent the night evaluating reserve defenders as San Francisco worked through early offensive execution issues. That meant extended run for a number of younger players, plus a limited return for veteran corner Eli Apple, who was on the field for just 16 snaps as he eases back into the rotation.
Prysock’s workload stood out immediately. The rookie corner was on the field more than anyone else on the defense and still held his own, allowing only two catches for 19 yards on six targets.
He also came up with a key pass breakup in the end zone. Darrell Luter Jr. and Jakob Robinson were next among the corners at 45 snaps each, while Jack Jones saw just eight snaps before leaving with a hand injury.
Up front, Eason’s 77.3 PFF grade and Halton’s 73.6 led the way for San Francisco’s defensive line. Halton was especially active against the run, finishing as the only defender on the roster with more than one run stop and piling up four. He and Eason helped give the 49ers some real punch inside, even as the unit as a whole mixed in some uneven moments.
The pass rush had a few bright spots too. Ogbo Okoronkwo and James Thompson Jr. were the only defenders credited with multiple pressures, with Okoronkwo at three and Thompson at two. Thompson also posted the best pass-rush win rate on the team at 18.2%, followed by Okoronkwo at 14.3% and rookie Sebastian Valdez at 13.3%.
There were rough patches as well. Alfred Collins and Romello Height finished with the lowest marks up front, and neither produced a pass-rush win across 18 snaps. Collins was also charged with a missed tackle and was pushed backward by Tennessee’s starting offensive line.
At linebacker, Larry Worth III and Tatum Bethune both got to the Titans quarterback for sacks. Worth also added an important run stop, while Nick Martin gave the defense steady tackling support with an average depth of tackle of 5.8 yards.
Jaden Dugger logged 30 snaps and posted a 63.8 grade after recording a defensive stop and two tackles. His grade took a hit on a screen pass that went for 16 yards, though the coverage assignment on the play was described as questionable. Garret Wallow had a tougher night, finishing near the bottom of the defense with a 25.6 grade after giving up 22 yards on both of his targets, including 21 yards after the catch on a screen route against a slot receiver.
In the secondary, Ashtyn Davis was the top-graded defensive back overall at 76.4 across 35 snaps. He nearly turned in an interception, breaking sharply on the ball before it slipped through his hands. Jalen Stroman, Marques Sigle and Prysock each missed a tackle, and Jones also missed an open-field tackle before his exit.
For a preseason opener, it was exactly the kind of night that exposes who can handle more work and who still needs cleaning up. The 49ers got both sides of that lesson.
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