Cowboys vs. 49ers: Stock up and stock down after preseason Week 1

Honorable mentions

Here are a few players who receive a small stock up or stock down, but didn’t get a slide of their own:

Richie James (stock up)

Richie James had a rough start to the game with a horrible drop, but quickly recovered. The 49ers clearly wanted to put him into the game with as many touches as possible (more on that in a moment) and he caught the rest of his targets after his drop.

James caught six passes overall for 31 yards off seven targets, which isn’t great in terms of yardage but very few downfield shots were made in this game.

The odds of James making the roster have grown infinitely, as Trent Taylor had to undergo surgery to repair a fractured foot he had been nursing. This paves the way for James to be the starting slot receiver to begin the season.

Kendrick Bourne (stock down)

Bourne had a nasty drop when he was hit right between the numbers. He wasn’t horrible and did get back into the game with a good catch for 14 yards, but when you’re in a roster battle where you’re on the bubble, you have to make every catch count.

Justin Skule (stock up)

Justin Skule started at right tackle and was mostly solid. He gets a stock up mostly for Beavers’ poor performance as well as the injury to Coleman, which should make it easier on Skule to make the 53-man roster.

Jullian Taylor (stock up)

You didn’t see it registered in the stats much, but Jullian Taylor did a good job against Dallas’ interior blocking. It’s not out of the question that he could nab a starting job down the line.

Jeremiah Valoaga (stock up)

Signed only this week, Jeremiah Valoaga raised eyebrows by notching two sacks and coming very close to notching a third against the Cowboys. He was signed only earlier this week, but may stick around for a while yet.

Damontre Moore (stock up)

Damontre Moore was all over the field, looking strong in both run and pass defense. He still has an uphill battle to make the roster, but this is a good reminder that Moore has some good talent and was a former third-round selection for a reason.

Azeez Al-Shaair (stock up)

I’m giving out a lot of stock ups, aren’t I? I suppose it’s only fitting as there was more good than bad in this game. Azeez Al-Shaair looked right at home at linebacker, even recording a tackle for a loss. The thin depth the 49ers have at linebacker makes him one to watch.

Dontae Johnson (stock down)

He just did not look like he should be on the roster. Frequently taking bad angles, Dontae Johnson was a throwback to the frustrating performances of defensive backs that needs to end. Adding insult to injury, he was flagged for a bogus pass interference call late in the contest that Shanahan decided not to review due to how late it was in the game.

Tim Harris (stock down)

To be fair to Tim Harris, he didn’t play a horrible game and he certainly has athletic talent, but too often he was trying to make plays on the ball which resulted in either missed tackles or bad angles.

He won’t be reliable enough to play in the regular season until he can control those impulses for instances when he has a 100-percent chance of a play on the ball.

I will give him a small stock up though for good coverage late in the game to help seal it, which is an example of what he should do more this preseason in order to make the roster.

Antone Exum (stock up)

He did enough to put himself on the strong side of the roster bubble for now. Antone Exum had a sack and a fumble off a blindside hit which was brought back due to a penalty that could be best described as generous to Dallas.

Mitch Wishnowsky (stock up)

At this rate, by the end of the year, I may go on record saying that using a fourth-rounder on the Thunder from Down Under (we can make that nickname a thing, right?) was a good decision.

Mitch Wishnowsky had six punts and he made them all count with a wide array of skills. He showed touch in shorter field position situations and launched them beautifully when he had more room. The ball was twirling and dipping like a ballerina and caused a Dallas returner to almost fumble at one point.

Wishnowsky will be a weapon for the 49ers this year, his only real flaw was a kickoff that went out-of-bounds just before it hit the pylon.