Kyle Shanahan really Kyle'd on Sunday. The 49ers lost to the Seahawks, blowing their third 4th quarter lead to a division rival. It was a tough loss in which the Seahawks looked like the clear better team on both sides of the ball. The offense has been catching flack for the lackluster playcalling, inability to move the ball in big drives, and constant penalties. All of that tied into the loss, but the topic that should be discussed more is the 49ers inability to get receivers open.
In 2017, NFL's Next Gen Stats began to track pass-catchers average separation on their routes (SEP). This data being introduced has been extremely helpful in determining which receivers get open the most, and therefore become great options for the quarterback. This season the league average separation is at 2.97 yards. The 49ers have one player that is above that average, George Kittle. Kittle currently has a SEP of 3.5. That may seem great, but as we look at tight ends ahead of him it begins to look poor. Guys like David Njoku, Brock Bowers, Kyle Pitts, Isaiah Likely, and even Noah Fant are all ahead of Kittle. So Kittle is creating more separation than the league average, which explains his high usage this season, but is still not in the upper echelon where he belongs. Interesting.
Now we can get to the receiver core, and it isn't pretty. If you look at the Next Gen Stats page, you have to scroll down about a third of the page to get to George Kittle, but the receivers? You have to go all the way to the bottom of the page. Deebo Samuel is sitting near the bottom with a 2.6 SEP, meanwhile, Jauan Jennings is at 2.5. Both of these players are combined to have a $20 Million Cap Hit in 2025, and both are well below the league average in SEP. That is unacceptable. They are below names like Alec Pierce, Darius Slayton, and Darnell Mooney. Yes, Darnell Mooney is creating more separation than both of the 49ers' key WRs. A falloff like that is unexplainable and inexcusable, and all it does is put Brock Purdy into positions where he needs to scramble like a chicken with its head cut off, just to maintain positive yardage. It's almost like that's been the story of the season.
So what is the solution to this? Play different guys? Trade Deebo in the offseason? Whatever it is it doesn't seem simple and seemingly involves Kyle Shanahan changing it up in his playcalling. Teams are starting to understand the 49ers offense more and more each season. The more the same stuff is used, the sooner the collapse will happen. So now I ask kindly, Kyle Shanahan please change it up. It isn't 2020 anymore, teams have adjusted. Now it's your turn to adjust, and if you don't quick this season will have been a waste.
