{"id":57122,"date":"2025-08-10T06:59:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T06:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/57122\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T06:59:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T06:59:06","slug":"two-49ers-rookies-stand-out-in-nfl-preseason-loss-to-broncos-nbc-sports-bay-area-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/57122\/","title":{"rendered":"Two 49ers rookies stand out in NFL preseason loss to Broncos \u2013 NBC Sports Bay Area & California"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2014 With a chance to shine on Saturday evening, 49ers rookies Jordan Watkins<\/a> and Marques Sigle<\/a> took advantage of their opportunities in San Francisco’s 30-9 preseason loss<\/a> to the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium. \u2028<\/p>\n

Watkins caught two of his five targets, but his 50-yard reception from Mac Jones was the highlight of the game. Watkins had just enough separation from starting cornerback Ja\u2019Quan McMillian to make the grab.<\/p>\n

The rookie was not brought down until Talanoa Hufanga was able to catch up with him 15 yards later to make the tackle. \u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

Watkins\u2019 performance clearly stood out, but it was not perfect. The Mississippi product committed a false start that led to the Broncos forcing a punt early in the second quarter. Coach Kyle Shanahan saw both the good and the not so good in the receiver\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he did some good things, especially that 50-yard catch,\u201d Shanahan said after the game. \u201cAlso had some plays where he struggled, too. Getting that pick, he had a busted route on that. That was a big one.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking that big play on the first third down in the game is what allowed us to end that opening drive with a score. Typical rookie game; there was some positive in it, but a lot stuff we can challenge him with when we watch the tape Monday.”<\/p>\n

Sigle was the rookie who made the most impact on the defensive side of the ball. Alfred Collins and CJ West made their debuts along with the safety, but the Kansas State product was the star of the young players.<\/p>\n

Sigle was only on the field during the first half and still recorded seven tackles — five solo — and was always near the ball. The safety left the game before halftime with a knee injury and did not return in the second half, but was seen on the sidelines still in uniform.<\/p>\n

After the game Shanahan, shared the injury was a knee bruise that was not too serious, but he kept Sigle out of the game to be cautious. The coach was impressed with the defensive back\u2019s preseason debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he was one of the guys who flashed a lot tonight,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cHe got a little bit of a late start being injured in the off season. It was a few days into camp when he really got going, but he\u2019s has a hell of a week here and finished it off good today.\u201d<\/p>\n

An honorable mention for a standout performance by a rookie is Sebastian Valdez<\/a>. The defensive lineman, who has been nicknamed \u201cThe Hulk\u201d by several of his teammates, recorded four tackles — two solo and one for a loss. The Washington product also received credit for a half of a quarterback sack.<\/p>\n

Playing in the NFL might be a new experience for Valdez, but after the game the lineman shared that his father Tony started using the moniker when his son was in high school.<\/p>\n

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANTA CLARA \u2014 With a chance to shine on Saturday evening, 49ers rookies Jordan Watkins and Marques Sigle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,25916,47076,47077,593,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-57122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-jordan-watkins","11":"tag-kyle-shanahan","12":"tag-marques-sigle","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}