The bad news the 49ers were dreading has been confirmed: rookie defensive end Mykel Williams tore his ACL late in the team’s 34-24 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
Williams also tore his lateral meniscus, according to coach Kyle Shanahan. That may lengthen the recovery timetable for Williams, although it’s too soon to definitively know when he could return to the field next year.
The NFL trade deadline is at 1 p.m. PT Tuesday. We’ll be monitoring the 49ers’ activity between now and then closely. For now, here are the snap counts and our position-by-position grades from their win over the Giants.
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Quarterback: Mac Jones (65 snaps), Adrian Martinez (1)
Game grade: A
The 49ers have gone 5-2 over the seven games that Jones has started for them, which is remarkable considering the fact that they didn’t come close to winning either of the two games started by backup quarterbacks in 2024.
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An added bonus: They got QB3 in an NFL game for the first time in his career. Martinez was thrilled about that in the locker room after. He even kept the football.
Running back/fullback: Christian McCaffrey (57), Brian Robinson Jr. (9), Kyle Juszczyk (44)
Game grade: A+
Robinson’s footprint is growing, but does that mean McCaffrey’s workload is shrinking? Heck no! McCaffrey’s 33 touches were the most in a single game of his 49ers tenure and the fifth-most in franchise history. He remains on pace to become the first player in NFL history to notch 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in a season twice (he first achieved the feat in 2019 with the Panthers).
Robinson looks more comfortable than ever running in the 49ers’ system. He succeeded on both outside-zone and slashing power runs, finishing with a stampede over Giants cornerback Deonte Banks into the end zone.
Wide receiver: Jauan Jennings (52), Kendrick Bourne (48), Demarcus Robinson (22), Skyy Moore (8), Jordan Watkins (8)
Game grade: A
Teams have inquired about Jennings’ availability ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, but it would be hard for the 49ers to deal their top receiver. And that’s Jennings’ status for now with Ricky Pearsall still out (he has a chance to return this week) and Brandon Aiyuk’s practice window still not open.
Watkins’ first NFL reception was an exceptionally difficult one. He pried the ball away from Banks in a huge spot. That conversion on 2nd-and-12 paved the way for the game-tying touchdown and the 49ers never looked back from that point.
Tight end: George Kittle (57), Luke Farrell (21), Jake Tonges (4)
Game grade: A
McCaffrey has now posted 100-yard rushing efforts in two of the past three games. Not coincidentally, that aligns with Kittle’s return. He’s a force multiplier in the run game, which is clicking again for the 49ers — at least against poorer run defenses (the Giants ranked dead last at No. 32). The Rams are No. 5 against the run, so a true test is coming.
Offensive line: Trent Williams (66), Spencer Burford (66), Matt Hennessy (66), Dominick Puni (66), Colton McKivitz (66)
Game grade: A
The 49ers made a necessary change at left guard, replacing rookie Connor Colby with Burford — who hadn’t played at that position since college. Burford was impressive on a pull block during the 49ers’ eight-run, 63-yard march in the second half and he allowed only one pressure in pass protection.
McKivitz gave up three pressures, including the Brian Burns strip sack at the end of the first half. But Burns is a star and a completely clean sheet can never be expected in today’s NFL. The 49ers’ O-line shined in this one — especially if we consider their domination on the ground.
Defensive line: Sam Okuayinonu (41), Mykel Williams (29), Keion White (33), Alfred Collins (33), Kalia Davis (24), Jordan Elliott (19), Kevin Givens (18), Robert Beal Jr. (13)
Game grade: B-
Williams has not yet developed into a good pass rusher, but he’s a big part of the reason why the 49ers have improved from No. 29 to No. 7 against the run. Perhaps Ferrell, whose sack on Sunday also produced the best postgame quote from the 49ers locker room, can reprise his 2023 role with the team to fill in for Williams.
Though he produced only one pressure, White was excellent in his debut. He energized the entire pass rush with frequent wins up front. As promised, White worked frequently from the inside, which complemented the work of the surging Okuayinonu — he posted another game with five pressures — very well.
This wasn’t a world-beating 49ers’ pass rush, but it was significantly better than the product the team fielded a week prior in Houston. Another addition (or two) before Tuesday’s deadline can change the dynamic for this 49ers’ defense.
Linebackers: Dee Winters (57), Tatum Bethune (57), Luke Gifford (3)
Game grade: C
Bethune led the way with 16 tackles and seems to be settling in a few weeks after Fred Warner’s devastating injury. The 49ers will obviously not be able to replace their superstar’s humongous impact, but re-establishing a dosage of comfort and know-how at the middle linebacker spot has been big.
That being said, the defense was still not ready to deliver on an ugly opening drive and a very lacking New York offense — devoid of much perimeter talent — moved the ball to prevent this from being a blowout late.
The 49ers’ defense is unquestionably this team’s weak spot and should therefore be the target of trade pursuits.
Safeties: Ji’Ayir Brown (57), Malik Mustapha (57), Jason Pinnock (1)
Game grade: C+
Mustapha’s best play since returning from his ACL tear came on an excellent touchdown-saving tackle in the flat. He’s starting to fly toward the football again, which is great news for a team that’s needed a boost at safety. The 49ers benched the rookie Sigle ahead of last week’s game (he was a healthy scratch Sunday) and they are now playing Pinnock at the “big nickel” spot previously held by Brown.
Cornerbacks: Deommodore Lenoir (57), Renardo Green (57), Upton Stout (53)
Game grade: B+
Lenoir missed an early tackle on Giants tight end Theo Johnson, which allowed a tightrope touchdown along the sideline. But he and Green were good from that point onward, clearly buoyed by the partial resurrection of the 49ers’ pass rush. Lenoir even got into a post-play scuffle with former teammate Ray-Ray McCloud. In the locker room, Lenoir joked that he was just reminding McCloud who won all their battles in practice in 2022 and 2023.
Special teams grade: A
The 49ers still must fix one aspect of their special teams: Kick coverage.
Outside of that, they’re golden. Eddy Piñeiro hasn’t missed a field goal as a 49er and now Robinson looks very dangerous on kick returns.
Special teams has been the 49ers’ most efficient phase of the game through the first half of the season. How about that?