49ers rookie guard looks fine in one area but gets crushed in another

It was an up-and-down performance, to put it mildly.

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The San Francisco 49ers leaned on their seventh-round rookie, Connor Colby, to make his first career start due to the injury to Ben Bartch. He did play the majority of the 49ers' Week 2 win over the New Orleans Saints, but this week, he got to prepare to start, and teams got to prepare for him. How did he perform?

Connor Colby first start review with San Francisco 49ers

Pro Football Focus is not the end-all when it comes to performance, but it is worth noting they had him down for a 46.6 overall grade with a 64.3 grade in run blocking and 14.1 in pass protection. Whatever you feel about the grading system, it is hard to deny that he was a bit above average when it comes to run blocking, and he was well below average in pass protection. 

Run Blocking Review

Colby mostly held up against power in the run game. He had a few issues moving laterally, but he was strong when he was able to chip at the line and move into the second level. Colby also had a strong block getting out in space on the screen pass to Christian McCaffrey, which set up the game-winning field goal. 

Pass Protection Review

Colby did a solid job of handling stunts and picking up the blitz. Most of his issues in pass protection came against speed and inside moves. Colby allowed five pressures, according to PFF. Josh Sweat beat him for a sack, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell got hits on quarterback Mac Jones, while Jordan Burch and Dante Stills just recorded pressures. 

For the majority of the first half, it was Stills matched up with Colby. He was able to beat him a few times by stepping outside, holding him up, and then winning inside. However, Stills did not have the burst to finish. In the second half, Arizona called on Tomlinson and Campbell to match up with Colby more, and this is where he struggled, and Jones took hits. 

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Arizona also aligned Josh Sweat inside as a rusher, where he was simply too fast for Colby and beat him for a sack. They went to it again, and Sweat won, but the ball was out quickly. Jordan Burch won a repetition in the same manner late in the fourth quarter. 

This is notable because Jacksonville starts Duwane Smoot, and he mostly plays over the left guard. Smoot is a former edge rusher, so he is much quicker than he is powerful. He is not a notable rusher, but he is a bad matchup for Colby. If teams see Smoot win after seeing what Arizona did, they will be giving this look to Colby until he proves he can stop it. 

 We will see if Colby can rebound from his shaky first start.