The San Francisco 49ers boasted a so-so special teams unit in 2018 despite getting quality kicks from place kicker Robbie Gould. How can this unit get better in 2019?
Scratch San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould from your thoughts for a moment — we’ll get to him shortly.
Instead, let’s center on the rest of the Niners’ special team’s unit from a year ago and focus on how this crop will improve entering 2019.
Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked San Francisco’s special teams a lowly 27th overall on the season. Football Outsiders‘ DVOA metric placed the 49ers slightly better, coming in at 14th overall in the league.
While kicking off, the Niners gave up returns of 24.5 yards on average — eighth highest in the league. On punts, San Francisco’s special teamers were notable better, giving up a return average of 7.8 yards — 13th best.
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower returns for his third season commanding this group. And he’ll face notable challenges outside just worrying whether or not Gould’s franchise-tag holdout continues through into the preseason, potentially the regular season, too.
Improving Field Position
The Niners offense started, on average, on their own 26.2-yard line, while defense stands averaged out on opponents’ 30.9-yard lines — both ranking 30th in the league.
Field position is an underrated-yet-crucial aspect of any team’s success or failure over the course of the season.
This partially explains why San Francisco used a fourth-round NFL Draft pick on former Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who averaged 45.2 yards per punt last season — good for 12th best in the NCAA among qualifiers. Wishnowsky is expected to be a massive field-flipping weapon for the 49ers. And while some may view his drafting as a major reach by San Francisco, the would-be impact is something ultimately capable of altering those field-position stats mentioned previously.
That said, there’s flip side: San Francisco’s return game.
Competent Returners
The 49ers swapped out multiple return men over the course of 2018. Punt duties were largely handled by wide receivers Trent Taylor, Dante Pettis and Richie James, with James getting the majority late in the season. Taylor was dealing with a back injury, while Pettis had knee issues early in the year.
One might expect Pettis to be more of an offensive weapon in 2019, therefore limiting his special teams exposure despite his impressive collegiate punt-return record.
Almost by default, James winds up the de facto option here. He did, after all, lead the Niners in kick returns, too, including a 97-yard kickoff return against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 last year.
But James also fumbled twice, so that’s something to keep an eye on.
Cornerback D.J. Reed might also be in the mix for return duties. He averaged a team-best 30.2 yards on 11 kickoff returns, potentially putting James’ roster spot in jeopardy.
Special Teams X-Factors for the 49ers
Gould’s contractual situation is quietly becoming a mess. San Francisco won’t worry too much, of course, if Gould shows up by Week 1 of the regular season. Especially after he led the league last year with a 97.1 field-goal percentage.
If he doesn’t show up, though, the Niners are forced to rely on the younger, less-experienced Jonathan Brown, who has never kicked in a regular-season game.
As far as those coverage units go, it’s a bonus running back Raheem Mostert (forearm) is expected back fully healthy by Week 1. Both he and linebacker David Mayo, one of the Niners free-agent pickups from the offseason, are known for their special teams abilities. Both are expected to be vital pieces for Hightower.
After that, things get a bit more interesting. So much of a special teams crop is dependent on who head coach Kyle Shanahan wants to keep on the 53-man roster. Reserves and backups are frequently expected to contribute on special teams, and the transitional nature of the back end of any roster means these units can go through drastic changes on a year-to-year basis.
San Francisco is hoping last year’s slight regression is a mere anomaly, and this unit winds up boasting the right parts and unheralded contributors over the course of 2019.