San Francisco drafted Ward out of Northern Illinois with the No. Alexander, meanwhile, was just starting to find his feet as a slot corner in the Vikings’ defense, also grading above 60.0 in each of the last two seasons.The Baltimore Ravens have a talented and versatile group of defensive backs, but they also have a defensive scheme that uses them to attack unlike any other in football.The Jets were in the unusual position of having all the talent in the safety position, and not at cornerback. For his first two seasons at the helm, the read-option was unstoppable. 49ers general manager said he was promised a contract extension and talks have picked up after they were put on hold.The 49ers\u2019 most recent first-round pick was quite great in his lone season of the decade. Just watch his 181-yard rushing (and 263 passing yard) performance in his playoff debut against Green Bay. In three seasons, two as a full-time starter, Kittle has improved every step of the way.
The dual-threat was picked 36th overall in 2011 out of Nevada, but didn\u2019t enter the starting lineup until 2012 when Alex Smith was concussed. Before Jimmie Ward and Arik Armstead\u2019s breakout 2019, he was the only top pick to live up to expectations.
He took the 49ers to two-straight NFC Championships. Jimmie Ward receives an honorable mention among top safeties in ESPN rankings ninersnation.com - Kyle Posey. Poyer ranked 22nd at 74.2 while tying for eighth in the league with 30 defensive stops. Unfortunately, his career was cut short with injuries, but the impact he had was inarguable. His draft-standing and immediate production make him a fan-favorite, but there\u2019s still years to come. He produced an 83.3 coverage grade over the past two years, the ninth-best mark in the league, and he’s broken up 19.3% of his targets — good for sixth-best. He finished with a 58.9 overall grade and eight penalties. The 42-year home of San Francisco football saw plenty of iconic plays, but was in store for one last treat. This one might hurt, given that he\u2019s no longer in San Francisco, but defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (2016 seventh overall out of Oregon) is probably the 49ers\u2019 best first-round pick of the 2010s. Age: 29 | Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: Off the ballot. Learn More. After two straight All-Pro seasons, Kittle\u2019s easily one of the best two tight ends in the NFL (Kansas City\u2019s Travis Kelce being the other). Kaepernick\u2019s on-field accomplishments and popularity are far-outweighed by his off-field ones, but there\u2019s no denying his skills on the football field, especially at his peak.
ESPN is rounding out their positional rankings with safeties, as the San Francisco 49ers have a pair that were in the running. The 28-year old recorded 65 tackles, one sack and eight pass deflections last season. 11 overall pick in the draft, but he has been a consistently solid starting corner for his entire career, grading in the 60s in every single season. $39.99 / yr. $9.99 / mo. 1 role in their man-heavy scheme.
Sign Up. "This time, [Micah Hyde of the Buffalo Bills] edged out Jimmie Ward and Landon Collins. But that changed significantly when they traded Jamal Adams to the Seahawks.He has certainly yet to be given a clear and stable role in his young NFL career, so there is legitimate hope we might see him raise his game in 2020 and eliminate that inconsistency to become one of the better players in the league at his position.The Bills have done a fantastic job covering on the back end over recent years, and they've had success with several different cornerbacks in their zone-heavy scheme.Fitzpatrick earned an 88.4 overall grade with the Steelers after he was traded and showed the ability to be a true playmaker, but much of that high grade came in a three-game stretch where he had four interceptions, a pass breakup and a PFF grade above 90.0. Was John Lynch responsible?The NFL draft is set to bring excitement to the 49er faithful now that the San Francisco 49ers have the 13th overall pick. It\u2019s hard to build on a record-breaking 2018 (his 1,377 receiving yards captured the single-season record), but he found a way to do that by establishing himself as the best blocking tight end and being rated as the best player (95.0 grade) in the NFL by PFF. Here's why 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is so disrespected.Another non-first-round pick whose impact far outweighs his draft position is current tight end George Kittle. Learn More.
He produced an 83.3 coverage grade over the past two years, the ninth-best mark in the league, and he’s broken up 19.3% of his targets — good for sixth-best. 30 overall pick in 2014.