49ers rookie could make his debut in the biggest game of the year
The San Francisco 49ers' pass rush has fired on all cylinders since the Week 9 bye, and its ranks have swollen after rookie Robert Beal Jr. was activated from injured reserve. A fifth-round pick out of Georgia, Beal has spent the entire year on IR following a hamstring injury. But he may now get a […]
The San Francisco 49ers' pass rush has fired on all cylinders since the Week 9 bye, and its ranks have swollen after rookie Robert Beal Jr. was activated from injured reserve.
A fifth-round pick out of Georgia, Beal has spent the entire year on IR following a hamstring injury.
But he may now get a chance to make his NFL debut in the 49ers' biggest game of the season, Sunday's NFC Championship Game rematch with the Philadelphia Eagles, after taking the place of safety George Odum on the 53-man roster.
Odum suffered a torn biceps muscle in the Thanksgiving win over the Seattle Seahawks and has been placed on season-ending injured reserve.
San Francisco has just two active safeties on the 53 and will need to make moves to address the lack of depth at the position following the injuries to Odum and All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga, which have left the Niners with veteran Tashaun Gipson and rookie Ji'Ayir Brown as their only options in that area.
The odds of Beal quickly becoming a part of the edge rush rotation are low. The 49ers have excellent depth at defensive end following the trade deadline move for Chase Young, which has rejuvenated a front that had previously been struggling to get home on pressures.
San Francisco has 15 sacks over the course of the last three games, with Clelin Ferrell and Randy Gregory giving the 49ers impactful snaps behind Young and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, who is second among all edge rushers in pressures with 66, per Pro Football Focus.
But Beal does have traits the 49ers value highly. San Francisco revealed after the draft that he led the draft class in 'GTFO', a metric developed by the team's analytics department that measures explosiveness off the snap.
Beal's initial burst translated to a 40-yard dash time of 4.48 seconds. Even if Beal can't get on the field, that kind of long speed might allow him to make an immediate impact on special teams, where the 49ers are weaker after losing Odum, one of the best in the league in that facet of the game, for the year.
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