Jordan Reed, Jimmie Ward among PFF’s highest-graded 49ers players vs. Saints

San Francisco 49ers tight end Jordan Reed had one of the best catches of the season on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, it didn't result in a first down, nor did the game end in a victory for his Niners.

The one-handed catch came in the second quarter and featured Reed hauling in the Nick Mullens-thrown football just inches above the turf.


"I had a choice route," Reed said after the game. "(Saints safety) Malcolm Jenkins had pretty good coverage on me. Nick, he got hit as he threw the ball, so it was a low ball. I saw it coming, and I just tried my hardest to catch the tail end and step. I'm grateful for that catch for sure."

Reed ended up as Pro Football Focus' highest-graded offensive player for the 49ers. The highest-graded Niner, however, was safety Jimmie Ward.

Ward finished Sunday's game with four tackles and two passes defensed, according to Pro Football Reference. Saints quarterbacks owned a passer rating of 39.6 when targeting the seventh-year safety.

Linebacker Fred Warner, one of the league's best young defensive stars, was surprisingly among the worst-graded 49ers players from the game. Saints quarterbacks, however, owned a passer rating of 127.8 when targeting Warner, and the analytics site credited him for giving up a touchdown.

Warner's 40.9 overall grade was his worst since Super Bowl LIV.

"We have a great opportunity (during the bye week) to just continue to get better," Warner said after Sunday's game. "Guys understand that. I need to get better. So, I think everybody's got to take that upon themselves to take responsibility and get better after this bye week."

Below were the five highest-graded 49ers players on offense against the Saints.

• Jordan Reed, TE, 80.6, 31 snaps
• Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 78.6, 68 snaps
• Trent Williams, LT, 77.4, 71 snaps
• Daniel Brunskill, C, 77.1, 71 snaps
• Tom Compton, RG, 75.9, 48 snaps

Below were the five highest-graded 49ers players on defense.

• Jimmie Ward, FS, 83.9, 59 snaps
• Kentavius Street, DT, 78.2, 24 snaps
• Jamar Taylor, CB, 74.0, 29 snaps
• Jason Verrett, CB, 66.8, 58 snaps
• Kevin Givens, DT, 64.9, 28 snaps

Below were the five lowest-graded 49ers players on offense.

• C.J. Beathard, QB, 37.0, 1 snap
• Laken Tomlinson, LG, 43.4, 71 snaps
• Colton McKivitz, RG, 43.6, 23 snaps
• Nick Mullens, QB, 44.4, 70 snaps
• Kyle Juszczyk, FB, 51.5, 23 snaps

Below were the five lowest-graded 49ers players on defense.

• Dre Greenlaw, LB, 29.4, 55 snaps
• Fred Warner, LB, 40.9, 59 snaps
• D.J. Jones, DT, 41.7, 26 snaps
• Javon Kinlaw, DT, 45.9, 35 snaps
• Arik Armstead, DE, 51.6, 40 snaps