5 Biggest Takeaways from San Francisco 49ers' Preseason Week 2 Win

After two preseason games, the San Francisco 49ers still haven’t found a cornerback to pair with starter Tramaine Brock.

Second-year corner Keith Reaser made the start Sunday evening against the Dallas Cowboys, a game which the 49ers won 23-6. In the second quarter, Reaser gave up a 21-yard catch over the middle to former 49ers’ first-round pick and mondo bust, wide receiver A.J. Jenkins. Ouch.

Reaser got beaten badly on the play—he may not be ready to start. Remember, he missed his rookie season rehabbing a torn ACL. He basically is a rookie.

The best option to start opposite Brock may be second-year corner Kenneth Acker, who also missed his rookie season due to injury. But Acker gave up very few passes during training camp and didn’t appear to give up any against Dallas on Sunday evening.

Here are five more takeaways from Week 2 of the preseason.

The Niners Still Haven’t Determined Who Will Replace Aldon Smith

Ben Margot/Associated Press

When the 49ers released starting right outside linebacker Aldon Smith, they replaced him by moving starting left outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks to the right.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on Brooks, who was not a good pass-rusher last season. Pro Football Focus gave him a pass-rushing grade of minus-4.1.

Last Thursday, Brooks spoke about his expectations for the 2015 season with Lowell Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “This is Year 10 for me,” Brooks said. “I’m taking a different approach how I rush the passer. I haven’t done a great job rushing the passer. This year I expect to make double-digit sacks.”

He made zero sacks Sunday evening against the Cowboys. He didn’t come close the passer. If he continues to struggle rushing the quarterback, he may lose his job in the sub-packages before the regular season begins to rookie pass-rusher Eli Harold.

RB Carlos Hyde Seems on the Verge of an Excellent Season

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Starting running back Carlos Hyde played the first two offensive series, carried the ball seven times and gained 39 yards—5.6 yards per rush.

His first two rushes were stretch-zone runs to the right. He gained five yards on his first run and six yards on his second run.

His best run was a stretch-zone run that started out to the left, which Hyde quickly cut back to the right before gaining 17 yards.

Hyde seems to have a fantastic feel for running stretch-zone runs to the outside. He didn’t get run many of those plays last season because the Niners primarily used a gap-blocking scheme that suited Frank Gore.

As long as Hyde stays healthy, he seems poised to have a Pro Bowl season.

Jarryd Hayne Probably Will Make the Team

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

As well as Jarryd Hayne played last week, he played even better this week.

Last week he had a 53-yard run, and he returned two punts for 24 yards—the first for 11 yards and the second for 13. Both were excellent returns in which Hayne made at least one tackler miss.

This week, Hayne had a 34-yard run, and he returned three punts for 84 yards—the first for 27 yards, the second for 34 and the third for 23. He made last week’s punt returns seem pedestrian.

Through two preseason games, Hayne is averaging 21.6 yards per punt return. He seems like a virtual lock to make the 53-man roster as the starting punt and kick returner.

The Emergence of QB Blaine Gabbert May Be an Illusion

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Last week, backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert seemed like he finally had become what draft experts expected he’d become when he was drafted in the top 10 during the 2011 draft.

Gabbert completed eight of 11 pass attempts against the Texans in Week 1 of the preseason. His passer rating was 125.6. He consistently threw the ball quickly and in rhythm, and his passes were on the money. He seemed like a starting quarterback.

That may have been an illusion. Gabbert did not seem like a starting quarterback against the Cowboys Sunday evening. He completed all six of his pass attempts, but he averaged only 3.5 yards per attempt and his passer rating was 81.2. That’s not good enough.

On one play, Gabbert checked down to running back Mike Davis for a seven-yard gain without first looking downfield. If Gabbert had looked downfield, he would have seen wide receiver DeAndrew White wide open over the middle for an easy touchdown.

Gabbert is a check-down machine.

The Colin Kaepernick-Torrey Smith Connection Still Needs Work

Ben Margot/Associated Press

During 15 days of training camp practices, Colin Kaepernick completed only 11 passes to wide receiver Torrey Smith during 11-on-11 team drills. None of those completions were deep passes.

The Niners signed Smith this offseason to a five-year, $40-million contract. He’s supposed to be the deep threat. It is imperative San Francisco gets him going so he can have the impact it's paying him to have.

So far the Niners haven’t gotten Smith going. Through two preseason games he has made exactly zero catches. In Game 1, Kaepernick overthrew Smith deep. In Game 2, Kaepernick threw Smith a back-shoulder fade in the end zone, and cornerback Corey White smacked the ball out of Smith’s hands.

It would be in the Niners’ interest to establish Smith as a threat before the season as opposed to during the season.

All practice observations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow @grantcohn.