San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, left, and head coach Kyle Shanahan, right. Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Why this defensive wrinkle could unlock the 49ers' secondary

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers are just starting to figure out how they want to deploy their personnel on defense with Robert Saleh. We saw a wrinkle in Week 2 that we did not see in Week 1 involving Ji’Ayir Brown coming in as a third safety rather than the team playing Luke Gifford or Upton Stout.

San Francisco 49ers show new look against New Orleans Saints

The team only deployed the look for seven snaps, but we did not see Gifford at all after he played 23 snaps last week, so you could assume that they are trying to move away from their base and show this look a little more often in the future.

The Saints passed the ball three times with Brown on the field. One play was a penalty on the offense, one was an incompletion caused by Brown, and the other was the turnover that Fred Warner caused. Brown was not a direct component of all three, but all three were excellent results for the defense.

They did surrender four rushes for 18 yards on the ground with Brown in the game, and that is the fear with pulling a linebacker for him. Still, the pass game was improved, and they can start to find the right times and places to mix-and-match, getting their third linebacker on the field.

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The league is getting more versatile. New Orleans has a tight end in Juwan Johnson who played wide receiver in college. He brings little to the blocking game, but the 49ers saw firsthand that he can catch passes in the NFL.

So, New Orleans wants teams to give them the respect of having a tight end on the field. Then, they can get the wide receiver disguised as a tight end lined up on slower players and take advantage. Still, if you do not respect the tight end and keep your slot cornerback in, they do have a size advantage in the run game.

Brown is the perfect hybrid to fix both issues. He is strong enough in the run game, but does not expose the defense in the pass.

The Arizona Cardinals are another team that does this with their tight ends. They play Tip Reiman in-line, which allows them to move Trey McBride into the slot where he is bigger than the slot and faster than the linebacker. They also have Elijah Higgins, who plays tight end and even some fullback. However, he played wide receiver in college as well.

The 49ers are getting used to what teams are throwing at them nowadays, and they appear to be prepared for this. Expect to see more Brown next week, and as they continue to find these matchups throughout the season.

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

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