Good Morning Faithful,
Here are your top 49ers storylines for Tuesday, December 15.
New and Notable
Deebo Samuel Likely to Miss Remainder of the Season
Deebo Samuel appeared to know his fate the minute he pulled up on his 9-yard end around. The second-year wideout left Sunday's game after the first play from scrimmage and did not return to the contest. According to Kyle Shanahan, he suffered his second hamstring injury of the season and is likely to miss extended time. Samuel first suffered a hamstring injury in the final drive of the 49ers Week 7 victory over the New England Patriots that forced the receiver to be sidelined for three games. Read More >>>
George Kittle to Return to Practice, 49ers Not 'Confident' in Jimmy Garoppolo's Status
Kyle Shanahan spoke with the media on Monday following San Francisco's disappointing loss against the Washington Football Team and offered some encouraging news on the team's star tight end.
George Kittle has been working his way back from a fracture in his foot suffered in Week 8. The tight end made the trip along with the team to Arizona as the team has been encouraged by his rehab. Shanahan revealed that the tight end has a chance to rejoin the team at practice this week for the first time in five weeks.
As for Jimmy Garoppolo, the quarterback is continuing his rehab. It's not likely he will return to practice this week given the severity of his ankle injury.
Read More >>>
Watch Shanahan's full press conference below. 👇
Pro Football Focus Grades All 32 First-round Draft Picks
Following the conclusion of Week 14 contests, analytics site Pro Football Focus released grades for all 32 first-round picks from the 2020 NFL Draft. Here's where the 49ers two first rounders stand.
Pick No. 14: Javon Kinlaw
2020 Overall Grade: 55.9
"With Washington getting the ball out of its quarterback's hands as quickly as possible, Javon Kinlaw had a tough day trying to generate pressure. He didn't have any across 24 pass-rushing snaps, but he also suffered in the run game in what was an overall tough day at the office.
Kinlaw wasn't dominated, save for one ugly snap against Washington tackle Cornelius Lucas, but he struggled a little to anchor against double teams and was blocked out of the play by center Chase Roullier on a couple of occasions. Even in this game, Kinlaw flashed the ability to make impact plays, getting a big win back over Roullier to make a stuff at the line of scrimmage.
Kinlaw has flashed that playmaking ability all season long. Now, he needs to find consistency."
Pick No. 25: Brandon Aiyuk
2020 Overall Grade: 80.4
"Deebo Samuel went down on one of the first plays of the game, leaving Brandon Aiyuk to carry the load on offense for the 49ers. He was targeted 16 times, more than double the next most on the 49ers' offense, and he caught 10 of those passes for 119 yards. Aiyuk did have one drop, but he broke two tackles and consistently threatened a very capable Washington defense any time he had the ball in his hands.
Even with Samuel in the lineup, Aiyuk has been a real threat for this offense and a player who they clearly have designed plenty of plays for. This was only his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, but it was his fifth-straight game with an overall PFF grade of at least 67.0."
In addition, Pro Football Focus listed Aiyuk as the fourth-highest graded rookie in the entire draft class through 14 weeks.
