49ers vs. Chargers: What to expect of C.J. Beathard in Week 4

C.J. Beathard’s Pocket Awareness versus Pressure

A year ago, C.J. Beathard wasn’t particularly great at managing pressure. It wasn’t much of a collegiate strength either, but his 19 sacks taken in 2017 (a sack rate of of 7.9 percent would have ranked 10th among qualifiers) is a pretty good indicator there wasn’t much maturation here at the pro level.

San Francisco 49ers

Last year, according to Pro Football Focus, Beathard managed a passer rating of 83.9 when he wasn’t facing pressure. Add in the pressure factor, and his passer rating dropped to 42.3.

Yup, nearly cut in half.

There’s both good and bad news here. First, the Niners spent heavily this offseason to upgrade the offensive line, bringing in center Weston Richburg in free agency and selecting right tackle Mike McGlinchey at No. 9 overall in the NFL Draft.

That said, San Francisco’s pass protection hasn’t exactly looked stellar the first three weeks. Per PFF, the Niners’ overall pass blocking graded out at 73.1, which was tied for 14th overall in 2017. This year, that mark grades out at 63.9 — 27th out of all 32 teams.

Both numbers are skewed a bit, namely because Jimmy Garoppolo was better with pocket awareness during the tail end of last season but not so much prior to his ACL tear.

Fortunately for San Francisco and Beathard, the Chargers are without their top pass-rusher, Joey Bosa, who remains out indefinitely with a foot injury. That should give Beathard a slight edge over his previous pocket-awareness rankings, although it’s likely to remain something of a problem throughout 2018.