San Francisco 49ers: Regrading the 2015 NFL Draft class three years later
By Peter Panacy
JAQUISKI TARTT. B+. . Safety. Samford
San Francisco 49ers
It’s hard to believe, but not all of Trent Baalke’s picks were bad.
Initially, it looked as if small-school safety Jaquiski Tartt — something of a surprise selection in Round 2 that year — would be a wasted pick. Despite San Francisco’s “offseason from hell” that year, safety was one of the few positions Baalke didn’t have to worry much about.
And yet Tartt was the pick.
Hindsight tells us things worked out well. The Samford product flashed some promise his rookie year but fell off a bit in 2016. Under the 49ers’ new regime, namely defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Co., Tartt had himself a resurgence the following year.
San Francisco combined him at both free and strong safety, eventually settling on him working down in the box.
It paid off handsomely, at least before Tartt was lost for the year with a broken forearm halfway through the season.
Pro Football Focus had Tartt ranked the 15th overall safety in 2017, posting a solid 85.8 overall grade in the process. Surely influenced by this, the Niners elected to ink Tartt to a two-year extension this offseason.
The only thing preventing Tartt from receiving a three-year A-grade is it took the first two to come into form.
Other than that, though, it’s been a good pick.