The 49ers walked into the season with one of their biggest unknowns sitting right in the middle of the offensive line: left guard. For months, there was no clear answer, so San Francisco opened the spot to a competition between Connor Colby, Robert Jones and rookie Carver Willis.
The job went to Colby, and the first two games have offered a pretty solid early read on that decision.
Against the Los Angeles Rams and the Miami Dolphins, Colby has handled 61 pass-blocking opportunities and given up just two pressures with no sacks. He’s also posted a 98.4 pass-blocking efficiency and has avoided penalties entirely.
That protection work has stood out in the numbers. Pro Football Focus has Colby at a 72.6 pass-blocking grade, which ranks 14th out of 62, while his 61.8 run-blocking grade sits 26th. In other words, he’s been more dependable keeping Brock Purdy upright than creating push in the run game.
That’s not nothing for a unit trying to keep things on schedule. Purdy has already benefited from that stability, including in Week 2 against the Dolphins, when he was the 49ers’ leading rusher and went 20 for 22 in one of the better outings he’s had in red and gold.
Still, Colby’s early work comes with a clear ceiling. The run-blocking grade points to a player who has room to grow, especially if he can become more consistent at moving defenders off the line while holding onto the pass protection he’s shown so far. That kind of development would matter for Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black, both of whom need space to stay explosive.
There’s also the matter of who San Francisco has coming up. Colby didn’t have a great game against the Rams in Week 1, and the schedule won’t get easier with the Seattle Seahawks twice, a non-jet-lagged Rams team, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles ahead.
He’s still only in his sophomore year, which matters here. The 49ers are looking at a young lineman who is still developing, and that makes the early signs more encouraging than definitive.
Right now, the takeaway is simple: Colby has shown he can hold up in pass protection, and that’s a good start. But for a Shanahan offensive line, “good start” only goes so far. It has to be better than decent, and it has to help Purdy play to his strengths.
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49ers Suddenly Linked To A High-Upside WR Gamble
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For the 49ers, the fit is easy to understand. Their wide receiver room is getting older, and San Francisco has reasons to keep looking for younger, high-upside talent as it tries to stay ahead of the curve. Harrisons struggles make him a gamble, but they also make him the kind of name that naturally pops up when a contender starts weighing whether it can buy low on a former premium prospect. [Read more 🡒]
Brock Purdy Just Reignited A 49ers Debate Fans Know Too Well
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Claire Kittles social media note of gratitude for Purdy added a new layer to the discussion, because some fans immediately read it as a swipe at former 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The post itself is just part of the noise that follows any quarterback conversation in San Francisco, but it also says plenty about where the team stands now: Purdy has earned a level of trust that Garoppolo never quite matched, and the reaction around that reality shows the old debate is still very much alive. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Have More Riding On Sunday Than Just A 3-0 Start
A 3-0 start is about more than a clean early record, and for the 49ers it would mean joining a small but meaningful tier of teams that have a much better track record of turning September momentum into January football. Over the past decade, the numbers have favored clubs that leave the first three weeks unbeaten, with those teams far more likely to reach the playoffs and advance deeper than the ones sitting at 2-1 or 1-2.
San Francisco is in position to stake its claim to that group, and the timing matters because the race for playoff seeding often starts before most teams are ready to admit it. The Seahawks are also in the mix for the same kind of early statement, but for the 49ers the broader point is simple: Sunday is about more than staying perfect, it is about improving the path ahead in a conference where every small edge can matter later on. [Read more 🡒]