5 49ers Who Must Be Better After Week 1 Win

The San Francisco 49ers win over the Los Angeles Rams was very impressive, but there was still room for improvement across the roster. Who could have played better?

5 San Francisco 49ers who must improve after Week 1

George Kittle

Kittle is coming back from an Achilles injury, and he is ahead of his projected timeline to return. It is easy to write off his performance as a rusty game in a tough situation. However, he is also going to be 33 years old this year. He had injury questions beyond his Achilles last year, and his style of play might not age well.

What makes matters even worse is his backup, Jake Tonges, might be out for the rest of the season. We need to see Kittle progress.

CJ West

West was thrown into the starting lineup due to the injury to Alfred Collins. He looked like a reserve player who should not be starting. West was getting blown off the line of scrimmage in the run game. The only thing that saved him was the 49ers offense forcing the Rams to pass the ball more.

Dre Greenlaw

Greenlaw looked rough in his return with San Francisco. He missed a tackle early in the game and looked lost in run defense. He was saved by the Rams' game plan and Fred Warner being able to handle the role of two players.

Ji’Ayir Brown

Brown earned a starting safety spot, but it might not be for long if he continues this level of play. Brown missed three tackles against the Rams. His run defense was poor, and that is usually the best aspect of his game.

San Francisco benched Malik Mustapha for Marques Sigle in Week 1. They would have no issue bringing Mustapha back into the lineup and pulling Brown if his play continues to struggle.

Jordan Watkins and Jordan James

The two mid-round picks entering their second year ended up being healthy inactives for Week 1. James went from competing with Kaelon Black to being nowhere close to him in a matter of weeks. Black is eating into the time of Christian McCaffrey, while James struggles to see a single carry.

Watkins was ruled out while the team called up KhaDarel Hodge. He lost fifth receiver duties to Hodge and lost punt-return duties to Jacob Cowing. The former fourth-round pick does not have much value to the 49ers right now.

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