SF 49ers: 5 biggest surprises early in 2020 so far

Surprise No. 2: How poor Kwon Alexander has played in 2020

For much of 2020, veteran linebacker Kwon Alexander set the tone for San Francisco’s defense and gave it a swagger it hadn’t seen since the early years of the previous decade.

That swagger appears gone now, as does Alexander’s playmaking abilities.

One of the Niners’ highest-paid players hasn’t been the same factor he was for much of 2019, and there are a number of stats that are awfully concerning only a quarter of the way through the season. For starters, he’s officially credited with three missed tackles, tied for most on the team, and Pro Football Focus has given him a lowly 49.9 overall grade, making him the 41st-ranked linebacker out of 76 linebackers.

On top of that, Alexander is allowing quarterbacks to post a 104.3 passer rating when targeting him in coverage, per PFF.

All this sheds light on the possibility Alexander is the third-best linebacker on a team boasting Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, both of whom are getting paid significantly less than he is.

There’s still plenty of time for Alexander to turn things around. But the first four weeks have been concerning, putting it lightly.