Broncos @ 49ers
Final Score: 49ers 21, Broncos 20
Writer: Justin Mello (@JustinMelloNE on Twitter)
The Broncos went into Santa Clara to battle the 49ers in what started as a slow and debatably boring game. Luckily, a second half filled with scoring and a 4th quarter comeback by the 49ers made this one worth seeing through until the end. In addition to the late action fueled by rookies Jaleel McLaughlin and Ronnie Bell, we also got to see the much anticipated return of both Brock Purdy and Javonte Williams which made this an especially interesting game to watch.
Three Up
- Javonte Williams – The third-year RB is back and presumably healthy. This game made it a little easier to draft him and trust that the knee is okay.
- Brock Purdy – Similar to Williams, Purdy was back and looked good to go. He will be the Week 1 starter unless he “melts” as Coach Kyle Shanahan put it. He could end up being a tremendous value at his current ADP.
- Ronnie Bell – Bell was likely the MVP for the 49ers in this one. While he may not be a great option for redraft leagues, Saturday night proved that he is a much more interesting prospect in Dynasty leagues than we thought before.
Three Down
- Trey Lance – Lance wasn’t as bad in this one as we’ve seen him at times, but I think we’re all just about ready to give up on him as the starter. This is Brock Purdy’s team.
- Greg Ducich – He made one impressive play, but it still appears that he’s the TE2 in Denver.
- Samaje Perine – He looked good, but so did Javonte. Perine may not get as much usage as many people thought he would early in the season.
Denver Broncos
| Preseason Week 1 |
Quarterback
Russell Wilson: 3/6, 24 yards | 3 carries, 25 yards
Last season we went from “Let Russ cook” to “Russ is cooked” pretty quickly. He looked less than phenomenal in his one drive on Saturday as well, but he did show some flashes as a runner. He looks slimmer and quicker than he did in his first season as a Bronco. He was able to escape pressure and extend plays like we remember him doing in Seattle. With that said, he was inefficient as a passer, and the Broncos were unable to come away with points on their opening drive with Wilson at the helm.
Notes
- Looked quick and elusive as a runner.
- Threw a dangerous dump-off to Javonte Williams to avoid a sack, but it was completed despite Fred Warner lurking right there for a potential interception.
Missed Opportunities
- Overthrew Jerry Jeudy in the end zone, although it was great tight coverage by Ambry Thomas.
Jarrett Stidham: 12/17, 130 yards | 3 carries, 8 yards, 1 fumble (recovered)
Most of Stidham’s yards came on a 50-yard completion to Jalen Virgil. Outside of that play, it was a pretty underwhelming night for the former Raider and Patriot. In his defense, he was under pressure seemingly every other play as the offensive line struggled in pass protection.
Notes
- Decent mobility to escape pressure, but still took two sacks.
- Was efficient as a passer in terms of completion percentage, but failed to convert on third downs too frequently.
- Looked overwhelmed at times.
- Almost threw an interception on comeback route the play before Virgil’s 50-yard gain.
Missed Opportunities
- Failed to get to the line and spike the ball in time at the end of the first half when they had the ball on the 1-yard line.
Ben DiNucci: 3/7, 13 yards, TD | 1 carry, 1 yard
Running Back
Javonte Williams : 3 carries, 12 yards | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 18 yards
Javonte is back surprisingly soon from the torn ACL and LCL that he suffered in Week 4 of last season. What’s more surprising is he actually looked fairly explosive on Saturday. Even on his first play of the game where he only gained a yard or two, he was able to bounce of the first waive of tacklers and fight forward for a small gain. He was also very involved in the passing game catching screen passes (and dropping one on the first play of the game), check downs, and even a 13-yard catch on a comeback route where he lined up out wide as a receiver.
Notes
- Got a small workload, but the knee didn’t look like a huge problem.
Missed Opportunities
- Dropped an easy screen pass the first play of the game which looked like it could have gone for decent yardage.
Samaje Perine: 3 carries, 22 yards
Many in the fantasy football community, myself included, have been Samaje truthers all off-season with doubts about the health of Javonte Williams. The former Bengals’ fantasy outlook was probably more hurt than it was helped on Saturday, but that has more to do with the success of Williams than the failure of Perine. For what it’s worth, Perine looked powerful on his three carries as he carved his way through the stout San Francisco front seven.
The undrafted rookie looked solid in the second half playing behind Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine. His best plays were probably the two plays he scored. On the rushing TD, he perfectly planted his foot into the ground and cut hard toward the sideline to break into the open on a power run play. On the receiving TD, he stopped on a dime near the sideline so that he could walk into the end zone after two defenders flew by him. The rookie is making a strong case for a roster spot.
Notes
- Undersized, but he didn’t seem to be overpowered at any point.
- Also had a great kick return in the fourth quarter.
Tony Jones Jr.: 3 carries, 45 yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jerry Jeudy: 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
Jeudy’s one reception was on a screen pass from Jarrett Stidham on third down. His other target was a deep shot where he was unable to break free from Ambry Thomas. It was an outing to forget for Jeudy, but it appears that he has the best chance to lead the Broncos in targets this season.
Notes
- Had a more difficult time creating separation than he did in the first week of the preseason.
Courtland Sutton: 0 targets
Sutton has received some hype as a sleeper this offseason, but he was not targeted on Saturday while playing with the starters.
Marvin Mims Jr.: 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
The rookie out of Oklahoma worked with the starters and caught his lone reception from Russell Wilson which is a good sign for his usage this season. He did bobble what should have been an easy catch in the middle of the field, but he was able to eventually control the ball and sprint forward for some YAC.
Greg Dulcich: 1 target, 1 reception, 18 yards
The fantasy community (or at least Greg Dulcich believers) collectively panicked when Adam Trautman started over Dulcich in the first preseason game for the Broncos. Unfortunately for those drinking the second-year TE’s Kool-Aid, it still appears that Trautman is the TE1 in Denver largely due to his superior ability as a blocker.
The silver lining is that Dulcich looked like a specimen on his one target on Saturday. After a quick chip block at the line of scrimmage, Dulcich worked his way open toward the sideline and then executed a beautiful spin move to free himself of a defender so he could rumble forward for extra yardage.
Notes
- Agile and athletic; looks more like a big WR than a TE.
Missed Opportunities
- Missing the opportunity to see the field due to his incompetence as a run blocker.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 30 yards, 1 fumble (recovered)
Jalen Virgil: 1 target, 1 reception, 50 yards
San Francisco 49ers
| Preseason Week 1 |
Quarterback
Brock Purdy: 4/5, 65 yards | 1 carry, 8 yards
It was good to see Purdy back in action after the elbow injury he suffered in last year’s NFC Championship. He wasn’t asked to do too much in his lone drive on Saturday night, but he looked healthy and operated Kyle Shanahan’s offense well.
Notes
- The elbow didn’t look like an issue. He was accurate, and his only incompletion was essentially a throw away.
- Showed nice mobility both inside and outside of the pocket when necessary.
Missed Opportunities
- After taking a sack by the goal line, the 49ers missed an opportunity for six points.
Sam Darnold: 11/14, 109 yards, TD, INT | 2 carries, 18 yards
For the second straight week, Darnold threw an interception on a play where the ball ricocheted off his own receiver’s hands. Darnold looked like a solid “bus driver” for the most part though. Coming in after Brock Purdy and playing the majority of the game, the former Panther and Jet looked fine but only managed to put six points on the board for his new team. Unless Brock Purdy suffers another injury, Darnold can probably be left undrafted.
Notes
- Held the ball a bit too long and took two sacks.
Missed Opportunities
- Severely underthrew Chris Conley down the right sideline on what should have been a touchdown.
Running Back
Tyrion Davis-Price: 4 carries, 22 yards | 1 target
Davis-Price got the start with Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell both sitting this one out. He didn’t see any action after the first couple series, but he was relatively effective as a downhill runner. It is unlikely he gets much usage in the regular season though unless there were injuries to McCaffrey or Mitchell.
Jordan Mason: 8 carries, 24 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
Jeremy McNichols: 6 carries, 29 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Deebo Samuel: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 39 yards
Deebo got the first opportunity of the game with a designed screen pass, and then had another designed screen come his was just a couple plays later. Both went for big gains as Deebo was able to weave his way through the Broncos defense. Granted it was just two plays in a preseason game, but it felt more reminiscent of 2021 Deebo Samuel than 2022 Deebo Samuel which is a good sign for his 2023 outlook.
Notes
- Very involved early; received the first three targets of the game
Brandon Aiyuk: 1 target, 1 reception, 15 yards
Like most of the 49ers starters in this game, Aiyuk didn’t play past their first series. On his one target, he was able to get open on a quick slant that set up the 49ers deep in Broncos territory.
Jauan Jennings: 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards
The WR3 in San Francisco didn’t see much action tonight, but he was able to make a nice leaping catch for a first down on a bootleg play were he worked his way across the field from right to left.
Notes
- Did a great job of high pointing and attacking the ball in the air
Missed Opportunities
- Also got great separation on a deep post which went for a big gain in the second quarter, but it was called back for offensive holding.
Ronnie Bell: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 114 yards
The seventh-round rookie had himself a night. He was routinely getting open for Sam Darnold and Trey Lance and provided a spark for the 49ers offense which struggled to move the ball at points. He stepped up especially big on the final drive of the game when he picked up a first down after catching a screen pass and refusing to go down easily. The very next play he worked his way open down the middle of the field for a huge gain which set San Francisco up in field goal range. He also looked impressive as a kick returner throughout the night. At the very least, the rookie is proving that he is worthy of making the final 53-man roster.
Notes
- Runs with urgency; he is fast.
- No spectacular catches, but proved to have reliable hands.
Cameron Latu: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 46 yards, TD
Latu caught the late TD that put the 49ers back in the game. He will likely have a hard time of achieving fantasy relevance in 2023 behind George Kittle and Charlie Woerner.