The San Francisco 49ers came out of their preseason opener with a win but who were the standout performers against the Cowboys on Saturday?
Hype train rolling, the San Francisco 49ers kicked off their 2019 preseason schedule on Saturday night as they welcomed the Dallas Cowboys to Levi’s Stadium. For both teams, it was honestly a mixed bag with some good things but also quite a few bad things transpiring. In the end, though, the 49ers pulled out the victory, 17-9.
There was no Jimmy Garoppolo for the 49ers in this matchup to begin the preseason, a calculated move by Kyle Shanahan as the quarterback returns from the torn ACL suffered last season. Meanwhile, guys like Nick Bosa, DeForest Buckner, Jerick McKinnon, Dee Ford and others didn’t suit up either, due to both injuries and rest purposes.
Given that many of the starters either didn’t play or played very little, though, that opened the window of opportunity for other players to come out and put their stamp on the preseason opener. A few of those guys took advantage of the chance that they had.
These were three standouts for the San Francisco 49ers against the Cowboys.
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3. Jeremiah Valoaga, DT
Jeremiah Valoaga hasn’t made much of an impact since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He has just five career tackles and one sack to his credit, both totals coming as a rookie. Meanwhile, he signed with the 49ers this offseason to try and bolster their depth up front and, in the first game of the preseason, he made quite the impression.
Throughout the night when he was on the field, Valoaga was a great source of pressure up the middle, producing two sacks and three quarterback hits on the night. There’s no question that San Francisco has great top-tier talent on their defensive line. If Valoaga can keep this type of performance up, though, he could carve out a rotational depth role on the roster.
2. Mitch Wishnowsky, P
It’s always somewhat of a risky proposition for a team to select a punter or kicker prior to the seventh round (or at all, depending on who you ask). Yet, the 49ers took that risk in 2019 by using a fourth-round selection on Mitch Wishnowsky out of Utah. And after one preseason showing, it was clear why John Lynch was confident in making such a move.
On six punts for the night, Wishnowksky averaged 49.5 yards per attempt, which shows the solid leg he has. Furthermore, the rookie put his accuracy on display as well in the preseason game as he pinned Dallas inside the 20-yard line on three separate occasions. If this is the norm for the rookie, he’ll be valuable in winning the field position battle for the Niners.
1. Jalen Hurd, WR
Throughout training camp, there has been mild concern regarding 2019 third-round pick Jalen Hurd. The wide receiver who, famously, was a running back previously in his college career hasn’t been great in terms of his technical refinement in camp, which you might expect given his positional transition.
Against the Cowboys, though, Hurd showcased why he can be a huge weapon for the 49ers offense even while he’s still developing. He notched two touchdowns on the night, one showcasing his run-after-catch ability as he lowered his shoulder to get into the end zone and the other winning a big 50-50 ball for the score. If he can show that type of play consistently, the Niners will have a rookie weapon in the red zone.