The 49ers could be a guinea pig of sorts on Monday Night Football when they face the Los Angeles Rams, as receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and linebacker Von Miller could suit up in the yellow and blue threads for the first time.
San Francisco’s secondary has been beat up all season long and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford enters Week 10 with a league-best 2,771 passing yards. Whether or not the Rams have OBJ, the 49ers have a tough assignment Monday night under the lights.
“I had so many more problems before him.” 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said Friday, via the team’s YouTube channel. “Now there’s extra problems. News broke yesterday -- I think everyone knows OBJ is a great player. He’s been a great player in this league for a long time. The Rams already presented us with a ton of problems with the guys they had. A pretty good team already. For them to add OBJ is a good add for them. Big challenge for us.”
The 49ers offensive line is also reshuffling after losing right tackle Mike McGlinchey with a season-ending quad injury in Week 9, which is bad timing considering Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd and possibly Miller will be on the other side of the line of scrimmage Monday.
Here’s a look at how the 49ers (3-5) are shaping up in the secondary and on the offensive line heading into the NFC West matchup against the Rams (7-2).
The secondary
Jason Verrett’s season-ending ACL injury in Week 1 put the 49ers secondary behind the 8-ball from the start of the season. The oft-injured corner only played in six games from 2016-19 but cashed in a $5.5 million, one-year deal after a solid 2020 comeback campaign with the 49ers.
Since Verrett’s injury, nearly every other member of the 49ers secondary has been dealing with an injury of their own.
The team received some good news Friday, as free safety Jimmie Ward (quad) returned to practice for the first time since injuring himself in Week 8 against the Bears. David Lombardi of The Athletic shared some footage of Ward on the practice field.
Ward’s return would be huge for the secondary, as starting strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (knee) is still on injured reserve. Ward is officially listed as questionable for Monday night.
Tartt’s replacement, rookie Talanoa Hufanga, has filled in serviceably but is still an unknown commodity. Tavon Wilson replaced Ward in Week 9 but suffered a foot injury will keep him out of Week 10.
So it looks like Ward and Hufanga could be the starting safety duo in Week 10, if Ward's quad is in good shape.
But wait, there are more injury updates for the ailing 49ers secondary. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is out with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 9 and Josh Norman (rib) is questionable.
That leaves Emmanuel Moseley, K’Wuan Williams and Dontae Johnson as the only fully healthy veteran cornerbacks, along with rookies Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir. Thomas has played nine snaps this year while Lenoir has been benched since getting major playing time the first three weeks.
“Ambry and D-Mo, both of those guys have been working,” Ryans said. “They’re coming along really well. If it comes to it, those guys can come out there and play for us. Think they’ve been getting better these past couple weeks.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said that the two rookies will both be in uniform Monday night.
Cooper Kupp leads the NFL in catches (74), receiving yards (1,019) and receiving touchdowns (10). Robert Woods, who had 45 catches for 556 yards and four scores this season, suffered a season-ending ACL injury this week in practice. Tight end Tyler Higbee (35 catches, 324 yards) is a threat who requires attention.
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The Rams are known for spreading out opposing defenses with 11 personnel -- meaning one running back, one tight end, and three receivers. As such, the 49ers are expected to use a nickel back heavily Monday. Williams is listed as the team’s top nickel back, but Ryans said Lenoir has also been getting reps there.
“He’s been more on the outside, but we’ve also been getting him some inside reps as well,” Ryans said. “He had some reps out there [Friday], [Thursday], he looked good on the inside as well. He’s juggling both. He’s doing a good job of it. ...
“That nickel position now, to me, you’re a hybrid. You’re almost a linebacker. You have to be able to be tough enough, physical enough to be able defend the run. Nickels have to be physical guys. But you also have to have quick feet. You have to be quick enough to mirror some of the slot receivers, who are sometimes the quicker players on offense.”
The offensive line
The 49ers can’t double-team everybody.
Heading into Monday night, 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is prepping as if Von Miller (ankle) is going to make his Rams debut after sitting out last week.
“Expecting to see a ton of him,” McDaniel said. “They got him for a reason. I’m sure if he’s healthy, they’re going to unleash him in full force.”
The Rams already lead the NFL with 28 sacks, due in large part to Aaron Donald, the man in the middle.
“He’s one of the best, if not the best player that I’ve ever coached against in my 15 years or so in the NFL,” McDaniel said.
Donald (six sacks) commands so much attention that he often frees up his teammates for quarterback hits. Leonard Floyd, who burst onto the scene with a career year in 2020, leads the Rams with 7.5 sacks this year. Add Miller into that mix and that’s a ridiculous homework assignment for any offensive line, healthy or not. Someone is going to have to block those guys one-on-one.
The 49ers are letting fifth-round rookie Jaylon Moore compete with veteran Tom Compton to be the starting right tackle without McGlinchey. Compton, who didn’t practice Friday to non-injury reasons, finished out Week 9 once McGlinchey exited, but coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t want to tip his hand about who’s starting at right tackle until Monday.
“I don't want to reveal it,” he said Thursday.
Veterans Trent Williams and Alex Mack anchor the offensive line. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Daniel Brunskill are familiar with Donald’s strength and speed. Last October, they helped shut Donald and the Rams down in Week 6, holding them to zero sacks.
“It’s as big of a challenge as you do get in the NFL,” McDaniel said. “We get it twice a year. It’s like everything else, there’s a bigger reward when you’re trying to do well.”
Where does second-round rookie Aaron Banks fit into all of this? Shanahan said Thursday that Banks still needs to refine his pass-blocking.
“Well, we have one spot open and when we feel that Aaron Banks is ready to go and can be more consistent than Brunskill, and that's the way to go, we'll do that,” Shanahan said. “We obviously don't feel that way yet. On the right side, we lost our right tackle for the year, so we're going to try to figure out who's our best right tackle to replace him. Aaron Banks doesn't play tackle, so he's not in that conversation. …
“He's been real good in the run blocking since he's been here and he's gotten more used to running. Missing all of camp, it took him a while to get his weight down and to get into football shape, which comes just with each week. But the pass protection is the main thing he’s taken steps forward in. And that's what he needs to continue doing.”
