49ers @ Giants Film Breakdown: Stock Up, Stock Down
After reviewing the coach's tape, here are the 49ers whose stocks went up after their 36-9 win over the New York Giants, and here are the 49ers whose stock went down.
STOCK UP
Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk
Showed speed, crisp route-running, hand-eye coordination, the courage to catch passes over the middle and the strength to take multiple hits and still catch the ball and hang onto it. Aiyuk will be a star No. 1 receiver in the NFL if he stays healthy.
Tight End Ross Dwelley
He showed he can be a quality starting tight end in the NFL. He's extremely confident catching the ball -- as confident as Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin ever were in their hands. Plus Dwelley is a good blocker and he picks up yards after the catch. He's the total package.
Defensive Tackle Javon Kinlaw
Manhandled Giants left guard Will Hernandez all game. Kinlaw looks like a future Pro Bowler.
Nose Tackle D.J. Jones
Also embarrassed Hernandez when they matched up. Hernandez is terrible. Jones is extremely quick and explosive, especially early in games when he has gas in his tank.
Defensive End Arik Armstead
Recorded another quarterback hit while rushing from the edge. Armstead has improved drastically as an edge rusher -- last season, he primarily rushed from the interior.
Defensive End Kerry Hyder
Recorded his second sack in three games. Meaning he's on pace to record 10 sacks this season as Nick Bosa's replacement. Hyder recorded eight sacks in 2016, so he has produced before.
Defensive End Dion Jordan
Recorded a sack during garbage time and looked every bit as explosive and quick as Dee Ford, who's injured. Perhaps the 49ers can make Jordan effective for the first time in his professional career.
Middle Linebacker Fred Warner
He made a tackle in the backfield, a tackle near the sideline and he intercepted a pass. Everything a linebacker needs to do, Warner does well.
Wide Receiver Kendrick Bourne
Beat cornerback James Bradberry with an out route for a significant gain. Bradberry was playing bump-and-run coverage, essentially giving Bourne no respect. Bradberry is elite and Bourne isn't. But Bourne got open anyway.
Cornerback Jason Verrett
Played aggressive bump-and-run man-to-man coverage against Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, who's terrific, and shut him down. If Verrett plays like this every week, he'll be the 49ers best cornerback -- even better than Richard Sherman, who can't play man coverage effectively at this stage of his career.
Running Back Jeff Wilson Jr.
Juked a defender to the ground during a play that didn't count, and ran a beautiful route in the red zone. Wilson isn't fast, but he's surprisingly shifty.
Watch the full breakdown below:
STOCK DOWN
Running Back Jerick McKinnon
It's not really fair to McKinnon's stock is down -- it's defined. He's not a three-down running back, because he doesn't see the holes quickly enough and he doesn't hit the line of scrimmage hard enough. That's clear from his performance against the Giants. But he's a terrific third-down back and a quality receiver out of the backfield.
Center Ben Garland
Consistently pushed backward and into the 49ers running backs. Garland essentially tackled them for losses. You can tell he missed all of training camp.
Left Guard Laken Tomlinson
Gave up a sack for the second game in a row. This time, he got beat by Leonard Williams. The previous game, Tomlinson got beat by Quinnen Williams. Tomlinson will need to up his game this week when he faced Fletcher Cox.
Weakside Linebacker Kwon Alexander
Gave up two long runs to quarterback Daniel Jones because he didn't defend the zone-read properly. Every game Alexander's mistakes cost the 49ers.
Free Safety Jimmie Ward
Also gave up a long run to Jones because he didn't defend the zone-read properly. The 49ers better figure out how to stop that play before they face Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts on Sunday.
Watch the full breakdown below:
