San Francisco 49ers: Reuben Foster can become elite in 2018

Reuben Foster will miss the first two games of 2018 with the San Francisco 49ers, but is still set to play more than he did in 2017, giving him the chance for an elite sophomore year.

Reuben Foster will miss the San Francisco 49ers‘ first two games of the 2018 season after receiving a suspension that serves as the best-case scenario for both him and the team and allows the linebacker to establish himself as one of the best players in the NFL at his position.

Foster’s ban, which was handed down last week, is the result of a marijuana possession charge in Alabama and a weapons charge relating to domestic violence charges against him that were ultimately dropped.

Though Foster will now be unavailble for two tough games to start the season against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, should he avoid the injury troubles of his rookie year, he will be able to play in 14 games, four more than he was involved in last season.

And 14 games is more than enough for Foster to build on the promise he displayed last campaign and justify the Niners’ decision to trade back into the first round to draft him with a breakout year.

There is of course, more nuance to every NFL position than meets the eye but, in essence, linebacker comes down to having the ability to run, cover and tackle. Foster, who was ranked as the fourth-best linebacker by Pro Football Focus last year, has no problem doing any of that.

Where Foster has shone most consistently is down near the line of scrimmage. He is a hammer against the run who is able to excel in stopping the ground game not just because of his athletic ability, but because of how he intelligently uses his physical traits to evade blocks at the second level.

Below are three examples of Foster eluding blocks to find the ball-carrier. In the Week 10 game against the New York Giants, he dips under center Brent Jones and, though he stumbles as he attempts to make the tackle, is still able to force Orleans Darkwa out of bounds.

Against the Tennessee Titans he plants his right leg and sidesteps the center peeling off the double team to make the tackle, and does the same with his left leg versus the Dallas Cowboys to evade the advancing Travis Frederick, unleashing a fierce hit on Ezekiel Elliott.

It will have excited the 49ers to see Foster demonstrate an astute understanding of how to utilize his physical gifts, but Foster is at his most entertaining when he is given the freedom to attack downhill in pursuit, as he does when defending this toss play to Lamar Miller.

Foster demonstrates exceptional downhill burst and fills a running lane that prevents Miller from cutting back upfield before flattening to the ball and forcing him out of bounds.

With the rise of the quick passing game and the de-emphasis of the running game in the modern NFL, the days of the linebacker needing to crack into offensive linemen and tight ends are becoming a thing of the past.

Yet Foster can still do it extremely effectively, as he proved on the play below, displaying an understanding of leverage as he gets low and explodes upwards to knock Chicago Bears tight end Dion Sims off his feet, enabling him to bring down running back Jordan Howard.

Foster’s combination of athleticism and physicality has allowed him to also be a force against the short passing attack, his closing speed restricting opposing pass-catchers’ ability to pick up yardage after the catch and thus limiting the effectiveness and impact of the quick game.

Offenses predicated on short throws play into Foster’s hands because they allow him the freedom to attack. The extent to which he relishes that freedom is obvious on each of the below plays.

The first sees him race across field and deliver a huge hit on Tarik Cohen after he has evaded the tackle of Eli Harold, while on the second he diagnoses Marcus Mariota’s pass to the flat to Derrick Henry almost instantly and flattens his former Alabama teammate before he has time to fully turn around.

Yet Foster clearly also recognizes that it is not possible to blow up the ball-carrier on every hit and understands the importance of wrapping up. He is a sound tackler and that is illustrated by this play against the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he again quickly diagnoses and shuts down a short pass but has the awareness to wrap up the leg of James O’Shaughnessy to bring him down.

Foster’s fury is a controlled one. He is a smart football player who has an appreciation for the importance of technique and his mental gifts combined with his physical traits allow him to succeed in coverage, an area that has been considered the weakest part of his game.

This play from the season finale with the Los Angeles Rams provides perhaps the best demonstration of Foster’s capabilities in coverage.

He keeps his eyes on Sean Mannion as he backpedals and, understanding that in a zone defense Tavon Austin is his responsibility and that the single-high safety Adrian Colbert is unlikely to be able to come across and make a play in time, turns his hips and accelerates as Austin does the same across the middle of the field, putting himself in perfect position to defend the pass had it been on target.

His defense on Austin is an awe-inspiring example of his athletic ability, which also came to the fore on the play below from the Bears game. Foster is again able to turn his hips and run with a receiver but, seeing the play break down and Mitchell Trubisky scramble, bursts back downhill to make the tackle and prevent any kind of significant gain.

It would be incorrect to suggest Foster does not have areas to work on. While he is a player with very few holes, the 49ers’ zone coverage was often picked apart in 2017, with opposing teams regularly exploiting the middle of the field.

To ensure that is not the case in 2018, Foster will have to prevent breakdowns such as this one from the game with the Titans, with neither him nor Brock Coyle picking up Delanie Walker, who drifts into the endzone and makes the touchdown catch.

But the deficiencies are few and, after ending 2017 named on the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team, Foster has the chance to earn more significant recognition with a strong sophomore season.

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To do that he needs to stay healthy and learn the lessons from his offseason issues to ensure there are no more off-field problems that could lead to a longer suspension. Providing he does both, there is little to stop Foster developing into one of the NFL’s elite.