49ers roster: 5 players who quietly overperformed in 2022

The 49ers have enjoyed their star power this season, but these five players have quietly risen far above their respective levels of expectations.

Whenever the San Francisco 49ers’ 2022 campaign comes to a close, it’ll be fun to look back at the big-name players and think about just how well they performed.

Sure, EDGE Nick Bosa chasing the single-season sack record en route to what should be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award was fun to watch. So was All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey after he came over from the Carolina Panthers in the middle of the year.

The Niners also got great quarterbacking, too, from Jimmy Garoppolo first and then transitioned post-injury to the rookie, Brock Purdy.

However, San Francisco can equally count upon many of its lesser-known players, including some who were originally thought to be massive liabilities heading into the current season.

Yes, a number of those underappreciated players on the 49ers roster over-delivered this season.

Let’s look at five such players.

Overperforming 49ers player No. 5: Wide receiver Jauan Jennings

The Niners have a solid one-two punch at wide receiver in All-Pro Deebo Samuel and the statistical leader of the 2022 group, Brandon Aiyuk.

However, the third wideout of that crop deserves some credit, too.

Granted, Jauan Jennings is never going to receive Deebo-like accolades, and his 32 catches for 360 yards and a touchdown don’t exactly pop out.

Until one looks at the splits and realizes that 20 of those 32 receptions have come on third downs, and 17 of those have moved the chains.

Perhaps that’s why Jennings’ new nickname this year is “Third and Jauan,” as he has the tendency to come through in those situations.

Jennings showed his value a lot in 2021, yes, but this year is even more fruitful, although he’s not getting anywhere near the attention he should be.

Overperforming 49ers player No. 4: Center Jake Brendel

Remember back when there was nothing but panic in the wake of veteran Pro Bowl center Alex Mack’s sudden retirement?

That left San Francisco with few other choices but to start Mack’s backup in 2021, journeyman reservist Jake Brendel, who had only three regular-season starts dating back to his entry in the league in 2016 before being named the 49ers’ new starter in training camp.

Thought to be a liability, Brendel has been anything but.

According to Pro Football Focus, Brendel has given up just one sack and 11 pressures on a notable 526 pass-blocking snaps.

Just looking at the eye test, he hasn’t been a liability on the interior of the Niners’ offensive line, and that’s a massive win in the wake of Mack’s departure.

Overperforming 49ers player No. 3: Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir

Yet another example of a young defensive back needing just a little time to fully acclimate to life at the NFL level.

Such is the case of second-year cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, who was a fringe player on San Francisco’s roster his rookie season after being selected in Round 5 of the draft out of Oregon. However, after a strong training camp, he ascended the depth chart over fellow 2021 rookie Ambry Thomas.

Yet Lenoir wasn’t pressed into starting until the 49ers lost veteran corner Emmanuel Moseley earlier in the year, which prompted Lenoir into the starting lineup and opposite cornerback Charvarius Ward.

Ward, the No. 1 defensive back at the position, has been excellent this season. However, opposing quarterbacks who are testing Lenoir instead of targeting Ward aren’t having tremendous success.

Lenoir is allowing opponents a passer rating of just 79.1 on the year, and he already has an interception and four passes broken up.

Oh, and Lenoir ranks fifth on the team in tackles, too, with 65.

Overperforming 49ers player No. 2: Safety Tashaun Gipson

You’d be forgiven if you weren’t familiar with veteran safety Tashaun Gipson entering 2021. After all, the Niners literally signed him off the street to help make up for the fact that starting free safety Jimmie Ward would miss the first few weeks of the regular season with an injury.

Gipson, however, hasn’t given the free safety job back.

It might be a good thing, as San Francisco has a need at nickel cornerback, and Ward has filled in admirably enough there.

However, Gipson’s work atop the 49ers defense and alongside second-year strong safety Talanoa Hufanga has been exemplary.

Read More: Where is the weak link in the Niners’ defense? Is there one?

To date, Gipson is also up there in the tackles department with 55, but he also has two interceptions, five passes broken up and is allowing opposing quarterbacks a 78.3 passer rating when targeting him in coverage.

Awfully good stats for a player who was merely an emergency addition to the defense.

Overperforming 49ers player No. 1: Left guard Aaron Banks

Yes, there are plenty of us who were outright wrong about left guard Aaron Banks.

Sure, his 2021 rookie year was, well… underwhelming. Five regular-season offensive snaps aren’t a lot to get excited about after San Francisco used a second-round pick on him in that year’s NFL Draft.

And, in the wake of Pro Bowl left guard Laken Tomlinson departing for the New York Jets in free agency, it was a reasonable concern to think Banks would adequately step in and fill the void after such a disappointing rookie year.

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Like Jake Brendel, however, Banks proved the doubters wrong.

Per Pro Football Focus, Banks has given up just one sack on the season and is responsible for a mere two quarterback hits on 518 pass-blocking snaps played. Also like Brendel, Banks is passing the eye test and can generally go unnoticed during games for all the right reasons.

Many of us (including you, too) probably thought Banks was destined to be a bust.

Instead, he’s far exceeded those expectations entering this season.