Ten Players to Watch Down The Stretch

Brock Purdy is not featured in the following rundown of Ten Players to Watch Down the Stretch. Though he is featured in this intro. Which, in a way, makes him MORE featured than the players who are actually featured.

Purdy remains a bit of a mystery, wrapped in something of an enigma, swaddled in layer upon layer of narrative. He’s a “product of the system,” though the system ain’t what it used to be. He’s overpaid, at least according to those whose idea of “cap analysis” is to react without thinking to whatever number Adam Schefter reported as the total value of the contract. Purdy was in danger of losing his job to Mac Jones, at least according to those paying minimal attention.

The 49ers are 4-1 with Purdy as their starter this season, though he played poorly against the Panthers and did little more than watch the Browns self-destruct in Week 13. Purdy wore a heated brace on his ailing throwing arm during the Browns game, though that’s apparently normal for him on cold days??? He looked much better way back when he had Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle to work with, but … seriously, finish that thought on your own.

Purdy ranks ninth in passing DVOA, though opponent adjustments appear to be doing the Lord’s work. It’s a familiar Purdy tale: everything’s an adjustment to various circumstances and projections; lots of “Yes, but” and “No, yet” reasoning, while the quarterback beneath the rhetoric keeps playing (fairly) well and (often) leading the 49ers to victories.

Aiyuk isn’t coming back, probably ever. Kyle Juszczyk now has a fractured rib. Guard Ben Bartch is out for the year, which will force unreliable pass protector Spencer Burford in an increased role. The 49ers defense, missing Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, ain’t what it used to be. The 49ers have an 88.7% chance of reaching the playoffs, per the DVOA analysis at FTN Fantasy. But they face the Colts, Bears and Seahawks down the stretch.

The next two months won’t define Purdy. They will, however, define the ways that many analysts and fans define Purdy. Caretaker-ish quarterback play should be enough to get the 49ers into the playoffs. Brace for some seismic takes if it does not.

And now onto the real Ten Players to Watch, in alphabetical order.

Kevin Byard, Safety, Chicago Bears

Before we get too excited about Byard’s six interception season, we should list the quarterbacks he intercepted:

Joe Milton. Geno Smith. Geno Smith again. Spencer Rattler. J.J. McCarthy. Jalen Hurts, the rose among thorns.

So yeah, Byard has been picking on some terrible quarterbacks (and one dysfunctional offense). That’s what most safeties with high interception totals do. And with the exception of the Milton pick at the end of a blowout of the Cowboys, the Bears needed each of Byard’s interceptions to secure a victory.

Byard looked washed up two years ago, when the Eagles tasked the former Titans All Pro with saving their collapsing defense. Byard also looked creaky when starting for a 2024 Bears defense which reminded no one of their 1985 defense.

Matt Eberflus and various Eagles defensive coaches tried to use Byard as an all-purpose safety and slot corner. Dennis Allen is leaving Byard in centerfield, where he can use his experience to read and react instead of chasing receivers and tight ends who may be ten years younger than him. All but one of Byard’s interceptions this season found him in deep zone coverage, where he either jumped a route (Milton, Geno, Geno) or shagged down a warning-track scramble-and-bomb (Rattler, Hurts). Byard rotated from deep safety to the box before the snap for the McCarthy pick.

Bears opponents will be much tougher down the stretch than they were in the first 10 weeks, starting with the Packers on Sunday. But the Bears secondary should be tougher, too. The returns of Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson and slot ace Kyler Gordon will make Byard’s job much easier. And it would not be out of character for Jordan Love or a pressured Jared Goff to heave a gopher ball or two over the middle of the field.

Nick Emmanwori, Defensive Back, Seattle Seahawks

He’s big. He’s fast. He’s aggressive. He hustles. Pro Football Focus lists him as a cornerback. Mike Macdonald, who often compares him to Kyle Hamilton, uses him as more of an off-ball linebacker.

He’s rookie Nick Emmanwori, and he’s rapidly developing into a hybrid of Hamilton and the Honey Badger.

Emmanwori sprained an ankle in the season opener against the 49ers. He missed a month. When he returned, he took on an all-purpose slot defender/space linebacker role. Against the Titans and Vikings – two opponents with very limited offenses – Emmanwori added edge rusher to his repertoire.

“We’ve never really had a player like him,” said Macdonald (who coached Hamilton in Baltimore). “We are making it up as we go to a certain extent. I hate to admit that, but we kind of are.”

Emmanwori is hardly a finished product in coverage. T.J. Hockenson out-positioned Emmanwori up the seam for a 29-yard catch in Week 13; it was the Vikings’ lone offensive highlight. But later in the quarter, Emmanwori spotted a Justin Jefferson screen developing in front of him and knifed past a blocker to stuff Jefferson for a five-yard loss.

Sports Info Solutions charges Emmanwori with allowing 10 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown, but it also credits him with five passes defensed, and Emmanwori can often be seen chasing down other defenders’ receivers to make tackles.

The Seahawks secondary is much healthier now than it was in October. Devon Witherspoon has been back and playing at a Pro Bowl level for weeks. Safety Julian Love may soon return from a hamstring injury, though Seahawks fans have been hearing that for a while. It’s a unit deep enough to make former starters Shaquill Griffin and Quandre Diggs healthy scratches every week.

Not to look past the Falcons, but let’s look past the Falcons. The Seahawks face the Colts and Rams in Weeks 14 and 15. Both offenses can create unique problems for a defense. Emmanwori gives the Macdonald the chance to keep making up solutions as he goes along.

Jayden Higgins, Wide Receiver, Houston Texans

When it comes to the Texans offense, every little bit helps. The pass protection always looks like five strangers trying to break up a fight in a bus terminal. The running game is always stuck in quicksand. Yet with a defense that can make Josh Allen look like the chum in a shark tank, four or five chain-moving receptions are often all the Texans need to manufacture a victory.

Rookie Jayden Higgins has been providing those receptions for C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills over the last month. Higgins is 18-200-2 over the last four games, with touchdowns against the Jaguars and Bills.

Higgins has been feasting on intermediate-length slants and out routes: nothing flashy or fancy. He has gotten open against veteran defenders like Tre’Davious White and Kenny Moore in man coverage. He has supplanted Christian Kirk as the Texans’ WR2, allowing Kirk to operate in a slot specialist role. With Stroud back from concussion protocol, the Texans now have a fully-functional passing game, even though they still try out an all-new offensive line combination almost every week.

No team can expect to beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead on defense alone; even the Broncos passing game had to get its act together. Higgins gives Stroud one more viable receiving option. And that gives the Texans a very good chance to upend the AFC power structure once and for all.

Marcus Jones, Cornerback/Punt Returner, New England Patriots

Let’s start by sprinkling a soft pretzel’s worth of salt on Jones’ all-time NFL record of 14.6 yards per punt return, which he set with the help of a 94-yard return on Monday night.