We’re going to look at departures from each position prior to Week 1 of the 2018 season and see how they fared after leaving the San Francisco 49ers. Some players went on to better careers
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, while others may be out of the league. We won’t be highlighting every transaction, just some notable ones. Today, we look at the wide receivers.This is going to be difficult. The 49ers wide receivers had one of the most competitive units heading into 2018 training camp. They couldn’t hold onto everybody. It was a fun game here with the community as we guessed which receivers would be the odd men out when final cuts to the 53-man roster were established and no list was quite the same. The reason this gets difficult is because there were a lot of training camp transactions and practice squad sign-offs. If you look strictly at the wide receivers left to walk in free agency, there aren’t very many. The one name to note that left during the season is Victor Bolden Jr. He was suspended for a PED violation and upon returning was sent to the practice squad. He is no longer with the team, but that was due to being signed off the practice squad in December by the Buffalo Bills. If you thought he wouldn’t get anywhere better than the practice squad after his PED suspension you were kidding yourself.So that’s where we stress the following: these departures are not complete and do not include all transactions following final roster cuts. There were practice squad additions, poaching, releases—you name it
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, and the wide receivers was a group that got the brunt of it. For the most part, we tried to focus on players that compiled a single stat of any kind on gameday. Louis MurphyDeAndre CarterAldrick RobinsonAldrick RobinsonProbably the better of the departures, Robinson came to the 49ers from the Atlanta Falcons. Seen as a veteran and someone to help get the unit up to speed with Kyle Shanahan’s offense, Robinson finished 2017 with 19 receptions for 260 yards. He was released in 2018 in final roster cuts and signed with the Minnesota Vikings in mid-September. With the Vikings, Robinson had near-identical numbers to his year in San Francisco, 17 receptions 230 yards. He signed a contract for just the 2018 season, so he is a free agent. Louis MurphyYou’re may be wondering who Louis Murphy is. Well
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, he’s the guy who helped usher in the era of Garoppolo by doing this. For the rest of 2017, Murphy established some solid rapport with Garoppolo and finished the season with 128 yards. Nothing to light the world on fire, but he had some nice catches. Following the 2017 season, Murphy found himself out of a job. He signed a one-year deal and was not brought back, by any team in the NFL. Given his age (31) his NFL career may be over. Would you like to have any of these wide receivers back on the team? In precisely 99 days, the San Francisco 49ers will travel to Tampa Bay to face new head coach Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers. When I see 99, I think Deforest Buckner. The last time the two teams..."In precisely 99 days
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, the San Francisco 49ers will travel to Tampa Bay to face new head coach Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers. When I see 99, I think Deforest Buckner. The last time the two teams met each other, Buckner had four tackles—each resulting in a stop or a sack. Tampa Bay is returning the same offensive line that was 31st in adjusted line yards last year, 15th in adjusted sack rate, and 18th in pressure rate. You may have heard, but the Niners are not returned the same starters along the defensive line.Don’t fact check me on this, but I’m pretty sure Deforest is Hawaiian for “destroy.” Even if you just watched Buckner off-hand last season
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, you were more than likely impressed. If someone were to ask “how can Buckner get better in 2019?”, you have to really nitpick when you take into account everything he was asked to do last year.By the numbers852: That’s the number of snaps Buckner played in 2018. Only four interior defensive linemen were on the field more than Buckner. His dependability might have been the most eye-popping part of Buckner’s season. Not just playing at a high level, but doing so on every snap, when teams are doing everything they can to take you away. That’s big-time.13: As much as I love quarterback hits, and pressures to a lesser extent, a sack remains king. Why? Because it eliminates any positive outcome for the offense. It’s simple. Only two interior linemen had more sacks than Buckner in 2018.37: The number of stops Buckner had in 2018. Only two interior linemen had more stops last year. That number speaks to how dominant Buckner was—which we’ll get to shortly, but Buckner’s production was sensational. Two plays against TampaTeams will not be able to block Buckner like they did last year. They didn’t do a good job
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, to begin with. The first two plays of the game Tampa Bay sent a double-team at Buckner. If 99 is going to see that type of attention Week 1, Jameis Winston might want to look into insurance now.With some of the premier players, like Buckner, Chris Jones, that defensive tackle on the Los Angeles Rams, and Fletcher Cox, most of their best plays can’t be found in the stat sheet. Buckner had a sack against the Bucs
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, but that was far from his most productive play.I’d be interested in what Buckner’s win percentage was when he was 1-on-1 last year. My guess is Buckner would be in the top five. Check this play out below:Seeing Buckner rag-doll lineman will never get old. Ever.On the ensuing play Buckner was rewarded with his hustle in the stat sheet by tagging Winston out of bounds for a gain of one. Football tends to balance itself out like that.Doing his jobOne thing that stands out about Buckner is that he’s always doing his job. Whether he’s asked on that snap to win 1-on-1, or take on a double team. The result below doesn’t happen unless Buckner is able to complete his job by taking on the double team.On the surface, it looks like Buckner is showing off his Samoan strength. While that’s true, Buckner could take the easy route here and try to split the double team. Instead, he picks “half a man” and attacks the right guard. By doing this, it ensures the guard cannot climb to the second level and block Elijah Lee.That’s a selfless play. The play doesn’t happen if Buckner tries to be a hero. Buckner has the tools to be an All-Pro, but it’s his effort
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, selflessness, and awareness that make him a star.
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