Cowboys vs. 49ers: Preseason Week 1 grades and analysis for San Francisco

Defensive Grades

Defensive Line: B+

The other side of the trenches fared much better.

The defensive line was putting pressure on the Cowboys’ quarterbacks all night, forcing errant throws and just overpowering the Dallas offensive line.

Jeremiah Valoaga was particularly impressive, with two sacks on the night. He has gone from a unknown player to someone with a shot to make an NFL roster. Damontre Moore was also stout against the run.

Linebackers: B+

With every passing day, Dre Greenlaw is proving me wrong. I was extremely disappointed when the 49ers selected Greenlaw in the fifth round of this year’s draft, muttering my displeasures with the pick for the next couple of months. However, Greenlaw has been great in training camp so far, so I was excited to see him in game action today.

And he was just as impressive as all the training camp reports said about him. Greenlaw was a tackling machine tonight and always around the ball, as the big hulking No. 57 was always around the corner, ready to make the tackle.

He just needs to work on his coverage skills — he was biting on some play-action passes and missed some receivers in his zone, but right now he is quite impressive for a fifth-round rookie.

Meanwhile, the other linebackers were solid. Elijah Lee, one of my personal favorite players, did not play as well as I thought he would tonight but was still decent. Azeez Al-Shaair was a big surprise, laying the wood on some Cowboys. However, David Mayo was not great, allowing too many catches over the middle.

Defensive Backs: C

The defensive backfield has been the 49ers’ biggest problem for years now, and it still is. That being said, the backup defensive backs did not play poorly today. They didn’t play well, but at least they didn’t break down.

Safety Marcell Harris had a streaky day, which was expected since he is a streaky player in general. He had five tackles on the day and a couple of pass breakups, but also took some bad angles on tackles. He’s a very inconsistent boom-or-bust type of player, which will hurt him in his professional career.

Safety Adrian Colbert was ejected for a hit on a defenseless receiver in the third quarter. He was absolutely incredible in his rookie year, but since then, he has played like a seventh-round pick (which is where he was drafted). Colbert is a guy I am rooting for, but he needs to step it up quickly to keep his spot on this team.

Now, safety Antone Exum Jr. is someone who did not have a bad day. Exum has been one of my favorite defensive backs ever since I saw his pick-six off of Philip Rivers live last year, and he has continued to impress game after game. He is a vastly underrated player who shined again tonight. He had a couple of pass breakups and had a strip-sack of Mike White, which was unfortunately negated due to a penalty.

Rookie cornerback Tim Harris Jr. would have been a standout if the Cowboys didn’t have their final drive in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Harris looked like a complete shutdown cornerback and reminded me of Chris Harris Jr. of the Denver Broncos for the majority of the fourth quarter. However, he was beat a couple of times on the Cowboys’ final offensive drive, and got straight-up burnt by the opposing receiver who dragged him on a stop-and-go route. Harris looks like he has some potential, but will need some developing before he gets real playing time.