San Francisco 49ers: 5 players to watch in Week 7 vs. Rams
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: Right Guard Mike Person
Yes, the 49ers’ lowest-heralded offensive lineman is a key player to watch for San Francisco this week.
Right guard Mike Person has a pretty difficult assignment versus the Rams — containing perennial All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who arguably might be the NFL’s best defender right now.
Donald has four sacks through six games this season, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he adds to that number against a 49ers O-line that’s still relatively suspect against the pass despite emerging as one of the better run-blocking units in the league this deep into the year.
Person, who essentially won the starting job after training camp, has allowed one sack and six quarterback hurries on the season, per Pro Football Focus. Those aren’t terrible numbers, fortunately, so this should be a pretty good fight to watch.
Donald still has the edge, though. There are only a handful of offensive linemen capable of merely containing him on a regular basis.
Still, keeping quarterback C.J. Beathard upright as much as possible will be one of San Francisco’s key focal points throughout the contest.
And a lot of that starts with Person’s abilities.