Niners Nation
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Miami Dolphins have been unwilling to deal the following players in recent weeks:
WR Jaylen Waddle
OLB Jaelan Phillips
OLB Bradley Chubb
OLB Matthew Judon
CB Rasul Douglas
Then, after a poor showing on Thursday night football and falling to 2-7, Pelissero believes teams will pick up the phone and attempt to pry one of the players mentioned above away from Miami.
The San Francisco 49ers are no strangers to deals at the trade deadline. They’ve already made one acquisition this week. Let’s discuss whether any Dolphins players fit what the Niners are looking for.
As fun as Jaylen Waddle would be with Kyle Shanahan, his $84 million contract with cap numbers reaching $33 million a couple of years from now likely eliminates Waddle when you factor in his potential asking price, not to mention the money committed to Brandon Aiyuk.
The team is committed to Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, and Upton Stout. Suppose Rasual Douglas played safety, maybe. But the 49ers appear to be content at cornerback.
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was asked to assess the 49ers’ pass rush:
It would be good to see what Keion has got. [DL Bryce] Huff will be back next week, [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos] is back, [DL] Sam O [Okuayinonu] has been providing some production for us also. [DL] Alfred’s [Collins] been surging. [DL] Mykel’s [Williams] continuing to get better. So again, it’s a young group that’s continuing to evolve and get better. The adding part, that’s more for [president of football operations and general manager] John [Lynch] and [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] to answer, but I’ll never say no if you’re listening, John (laughter).
Statistically, here’s where the 49ers rank in various passing situations, per Next Gen Stats:
Intermediate passing – 26th
Passing vs. No play-action – 24th
Deep passing – 25th
Passing vs. No blitz – 26th
Passing vs. no pressure – 22nd
Overall passing efficiency – 22nd QB scrambles – 26th
Each of these can be influenced and impacted by a pass rush. Now, not having Nick Bosa was always going to be an uphill battle for the 49ers. Coming into the season, a Bosa-Huff duo on the edge with a barrage of pass rushers after that was a solid plan. The interior pass rushers push the pocket while Bosa and Huff clean up in the sack department since the quarterback has nowhere to maneuver.
Saleh has been forced to pivot. Without Huff and Bosa, we saw a season-high blitz rate of 33 percent last week. That’s not how the Niners want to play, per every year ever under Shanahan.
Could one of the Dolphins’ pass rushers help them get back to league average?
Judon has four games this season with zero pressures, and he has only one game with multiple pressures. At 33, there has been nothing to suggest that Judon would improve a team’s pass rush.
Before last night’s six pressures, Chubb put up a zero against the Atlanta...
