49ers vs. Ravens: 5 bold predictions for San Francisco in Week 13
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Fullback Kyle Juszczyk Scores Against His Former Team
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk spent his first four years in the NFL with the Ravens, where his Pro Bowl pedigree started.
And despite the success there, Juszczyk said he is much happier with the 49ers.
“I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out,” Juszczyk said, via Matt Maiocco. “Honestly, I’m just more genuinely happy here. I like my role. I like the work environment better here. And it’s been really cool to build from the ground up, whereas when I went to Baltimore, they’d just won a Super Bowl. So I was just adding on to what was already there. Here, I was part of creating that culture, starting from the ground up.”
Few teams are equipped, defensively, to defend against a fullback with a legitimate offensive-threat prowess.
And one has to think head coach Kyle Shanahan is looking at making Juszczyk a big part of the offensive game plan this Sunday.
Like George Kittle and Tevin Coleman, Juszczyk provides a worthy short- to intermediate-area safety blanket for Jimmy Garoppolo. Juszczyk’s ability to sneak off into the flat or extend into the seams is something Shanahan would be wise to explore in this contest.
If it happens within the red zone, expect Garoppolo to go after Juszczyk in an attempt to put up points against the latter’s former squad.