5 San Francisco 49ers Who Have Improved Their Stock the Most in 2015

Most members of the San Francisco 49ers have hurt their stock this season.

Head coach Jim Tomsula certainly hasn’t helped his stock. He seems utterly unprepared to be a head coach in the NFL. If the 49ers fire him after this season—face it, they probably will—Tomsula most likely will have to take a job somewhere as a defensive line coach.

Maybe he’ll accept a demotion and stay in San Francisco.

General manager Trent Baalke hasn’t helped his stock, either. The Niners wouldn’t be so bad if Baalke had taken better players with the 40 draft picks he has had the past four years. Baalke's stock has never been lower.

But not everyone’s stock is plummeting in San Francisco. In ascending order, here are five 49ers who have boosted their stock the most this season.

5. Blaine Gabbert (QB)

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Quarterback Blaine Gabbert drastically improved his stock after just one start.

Before that start Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, Gabbert had a reputation for being one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL—a flat-out bust, like JaMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf. Someone who probably wouldn’t be in the league much longer.

Now, after playing surprisingly well Sunday against a highly ranked Falcons defense, Gabbert certainly seems to have a future in the NFL, maybe even as a starter.

Gabbert seems like a quality game manager, similar to Alex Smith. Except Gabbert seems better than Smith at avoiding sacks. Against Atlanta, Gabbert faced pressure 50 percent of the time he dropped back and never got sacked, according to Pro Football Focus.

4. Quinton Dial (DE)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

During the past 12 months the Niners have lost two of the best 3-4 defensive ends in the NFL: Justin Smith and Ray McDonald. Those two made the Niners 3-4 defense work. They almost never came off of the field.

This season the 49ers have used platoons on the defensive line. Glenn Dorsey, Ian Williams and Quinton Dial play in the base defense and stop the run—Arik Armstead and Tank Carradine play in the sub-packages and rush the quarterback.

Of those five defensive linemen, Dial is the only one right now who seems good enough to play all the time. Armstead, the rookie first-round pick, is an effective pass-rusher but a liability against the run. Dial can stop the run and push the pocket. He deserves more snaps.

3. Kenneth Acker (CB)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The 49ers made a controversial pick when they took defensive lineman Arik Armstead and not cornerback Marcus Peters in the first round of this year’s draft.

Corner seemed like the Niners’ biggest need after they lost both starters—Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox—during free agency. The only proven corner San Francisco had left was Tramaine Brock, who was returning from injury.

In hindsight, it seems the Niners made the right choice not drafting Peters. According to Pro Football Focus, Peters has given up seven touchdown catches in eight games, while Kenneth Acker, the Niners’ No. 2 corner, has given up only three touchdown catches in eight games.

Acker was an unknown before this season—the former sixth-round pick had a broken foot as a rookie. Now he could be a starter for the next few seasons as long as he stays healthy, although staying healthy may not be easy for him. Acker missed the past game with a concussion.

2. Defensive Coordinator Eric Mangini

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Eric Mangini seems like the only coach on the 49ers staff who has improved his stock this season.

Under Mangini, the Niners defense ranks No. 18 in points allowed—good, considering all of the key players the Niners lost in the past year. Players like Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox.

Last week was Mangini’s best performance yet. He held the excellent Atlanta Falcons offense to just 16 points despite not having Tramaine Brock, Kenneth Acker or Keith Reaser—the Niners' top-three corners.

Mangini is getting better by the game. The Niners should at least think about making him the head coach if/when they fire Jim Tomsula.

1. Aaron Lynch (OLB)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch doesn’t always give consistent effort, nor does he defend the run particularly well.

But the 22-year-old is by far the most disruptive player on the 49ers defense, and one of the most disruptive defenders in the NFL.

Lynch, who had six sacks all of last season, already has six sacks this season. According to Pro Football Focus, the only outside linebacker in the league who has more sacks than Lynch is Demarcus Ware of the Denver Broncos, who has seven.

In addition to the sacks, Lynch has 11 tackles for loss this season. Only Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks and J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans have more tackles for loss than Lynch.

It’s a matter of time before the rest of the country realizes how good Lynch really is.

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