Stud: Niners Pass Rush
The San Francisco 49ers pass rush has been their bread and butter all season. Even prior to the 2019 NFL Draft, this group had the potential to make some noise with the addition of Dee Ford via trade to join DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead and Solomon Thomas. Then they added Nick Bosa in the draft with the No. 2 overall pick and they’ve been rolling like a juggernaut since.
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That was again the case on Sunday Night Football against the Packers. Bosa had one sack, Buckner and Jaquiski Tartt combined for another sack and Armstead had two sacks while Aaron Rodgers was brought down a total of five times. That doesn’t even talk about all of the pressure that didn’t result in a sack as the Niners capitalized on Bryan Bulaga leaving due to injury. Regardless, the San Francisco pass rush remains one of the most fearsome groups in the NFL.
Stud: Fred Warner
Can we go ahead and call linebacker Fred Warner the biggest steal of the 2018 NFL Draft? The 49ers got the BYU product in the third round (No. 70 overall) and he immediately came to San Francisco and earned a rotational spot. Since doing so, he’s done nothing but prove that he’s already one of the better linebackers in the league, which was on full display against Green Bay.
Warner led the Niners in tackles with 11 on Sunday night, proving to be a brick wall in the middle of the defense, particularly in the run game as he really bottled up Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams throughout the night. Moreover, he was also effective as a blitzer, coming up with a sack on the night. He’s done nothing but play phenomenally, even with Kwon Alexander out of the lineup, and deserves more league-wide respect than he seemingly gets.