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3 49ers who are trending up at the right time

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated Nov 18, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The San Francisco 49ers are going to need surprising players to step up in big moments during their potential playoff run. If they want to keep their playoff positioning alive, efforts from players like the following three are going to be extremely valuable

Sam Okuayinonu is taking on a big workload

He is hardly talked about because he went from a fourth rusher in the group to the main man, and it has shifted expectations. However, if the expectations are to just improve from his last season, you can say that Okuayinonu has done that. First, he is playing more this year and holding up.

Okuayinonu has been in the NFL since 2022 and set a career high in snaps through Week 11 of his fourth year. Beyond that, he is performing a bit more as well.

Okuayinonu has an 11.3.% pass rush win rate, per PFF. This is up from 8.1% He has always been a better run defender, but it is good to see that, as he has been asked to do more than just defend the run, his run defense has not dropped while his pass rush has improved. His play is not so great that he can replace Nick Bosa, but that was never the plan. For what he is, he is performing well.

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Renardo Green is looking better in coverage

Renardo Green was having a bad season through Week 7. He got banged up and was having a poor game beforehand against the Atlanta Falcons. He has been much better in the past four games, though.

He was allowing 0.92 yards per coverage snap through seven weeks, but that is down to 0.51 in the past four games. Green also had four penalties in the first seven weeks and just one in the past month. That was a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness, which is not great, but there are really zero penalties in coverage, which does speak to his improvement.

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Dominick Puni is getting healthier

Dominick Puni had his season low moment against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Vita Vea. The 49ers gave him some time off in practice before the Atlanta Falcons game in Week 7. Since then, he has been a new player.

PFF grades are not everything, but his overall grade is up from 58.1 to 74, and the video matches it. He has been much better in the past four weeks. If Puni is healthier and trending back to his rookie season play, it could be huge news for the offense.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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