In 3 plays"The San Francisco 49ers selected Stanford tight

end Kaden Smith at No. 176 in the NFL Draft. We haven’t really talked about the sixth round pick Womens Alfred Morris Jersey , so let’s do that today. Here are three plays that highlight why the Niners selected Smith.Contested catch kingOne thing is evident, Smith does not need to be open to be successful. Watch Smith go against Utah. You’re not going to be wowed by his route running. What will impress you is his ability to catch the ball when a defender is hanging on his back. There were a handful of contested catches in that game. This was the best one.Because Smith won’t win with athleticism, he’s going to have to win this way in the NFL. Luckily, he proved that won’t be an issue at Stanford. On the play above, notice how he protects the ball at the end. Subtle things like that is when you can tell a receiver is nuanced. Being able to hold on to the ball through contact is another trait that Smith does at a high level.This leads me to believe that Kyle Shanahan views Smith as a possible red zone threat, and we will touch on that in a little bit. If Jimmy Garoppolo will give him a chance, Smith has shown he’s more of a 70/30 receiver than a 50/50 in contested situations.Stretch the seamsOne thing that is consistent with Smith and where he produced in the Cardinal offense in 2018 was his ability to stretch the seams. Stanford threw him the ball down the middle of the field and he came through time and time again.In the Washington game, that play was a touchdown. Using Smith as a vertical option down the middle of the field will allow the 49ers to create mismatches for George Kittle underneath. It will also allow force defenses to stay in their “base” packages, because of the threat to run the ball. Smith isn’t the greatest run blocking tight end, but the effort is there. The threat of a vertical threat is what matters. Even throwing him the ball a couple times a game to make the defense honor him is worth it, especially knowing the quality receiver Smith is.Another red zone threatConsistently making plays in traffic in the most congested part of the field. That’s what a lot of the catches look like that Smith makes. When you have the worst red zone offense in the NFL, you are going to overcorrect. That’s what 49ers did this offseason. They went and got a combination of big-bodied, strong receivers that can hang on in the toughest situations. In the case of Smith, he gives the Garoppolo a target that can be trusted in the red zone.This play came out of 12 personnel, where the offense has two tight ends on the field. One thing that I’m interested in seeing is how much more two tight end sets we will see in 2019, especially in the red zone. The 49ers played small in 2018. With the additions they’ve made during this offseason, my guess is that changes.Smith is a Day 3 athlete Matt Breida Jersey , and if he’s ever going to become more than a number two tight end, he’ll have to figure out how to separate consistently. But just talking as a pure receiver in regards to catching, adjusting, holding on to and protecting the ball, Smith is superb. When you have the type of ball skills that Smith does, there’s a role for you on offense. Shanahan should be able to find one for Smith, even if it is minimal. Being able to put a package together of 15-20 plays that feature two tight end sets—where the defense has to honor you, will be a change in 2019. SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Another miscommunication almost led to another game-altering interception for Jimmy Garoppolo.Only this time, the San Francisco 49ers got bailed out by a flag and held on to beat the Detroit Lions.Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes and caught a break when a defensive holding call negated a late interception as the 49ers held on to beat the Lions 30-27 on Sunday.“Very happy,” Garoppolo said of his emotions after realizing a penalty wiped out his mistake. “I didn’t see what happened on that with the flag and everything but very happy.”The big play came after Detroit (0-2) had cut San Francisco’s 30-13 lead to three points thanks to two fourth-quarter touchdown passes by Matthew Stafford. Then with the 49ers (1-1) facing a third-and-2 near midfield, Garoppolo threw a quick out to Matt Breida. Tracy Walker stepped in front and intercepted the pass, returning it to the San Francisco 7.But Quandre Diggs was called for holding George Kittle on the other side of the field, giving the 49ers a reprieve.“I didn’t see it, but it doesn’t matter,” Detroit coach Matt Patricia said. “That’s the way the game is being called all the way across the board. We just can’t do it, make plays and then the penalties.”Last week a wrong pattern run by Kendrick Bourne led to a pick-six by Garoppolo Womens Terrell Owens Jersey , who threw three interceptions in a 24-16 loss at Minnesota that gave him his first loss after winning his first seven career starts.Garoppolo threw a 4-yard TD pass to Bourne in the second quarter Sunday and an 11-yarder to Garrett Celek in the third to hand Patricia, his old friend from their New England days, a second straight loss to begin his tenure as coach of the Lions. Garoppolo finished 18 for 26 for 206 yards, but was sacked six times.Breida did much of the rest by rushing for 138 yards and breaking the game open with a 66-yard touchdown run in the third quarter with help from impressive downfield blocking by receiver Pierre Garcon. It was the longest run for San Francisco since Colin Kaepernick scored on a 90-yard run against the Chargers on Dec. 20, 2014.“It’s like backyard football,” Breida said. “You see someone break a long run, see someone out there running, you have to block someone. That’s what he did.”Stafford was much sharper than he was last week for the Lions when he threw four interceptions. He went 34 for 53 for 347 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions but it wasn’t enough.He threw TD passes in the fourth quarter to Marvin Jones Jr. and Michael Roberts but was unable to lead another scoring drive after taking over at the 16 with 1:08 to play. He threw an incomplete pass to Theo Riddick on fourth-and-2 from his 39 with 14 seconds left, ending the comeback attempt.“We just have to make a few more plays, whether it be earlier in the game or later,” Stafford said. “There’s a million plays throughout the game we can clean up and be better, and it starts with me.”EJECTIONDetroit running back LeGarrette Blount was ejected in the third quarter. Blount took exception to Elijah Lee pushing Stafford as he stepped out of bounds. Blount was standing on the sideline right in front of the play and went on the field and pushed Lee. Blount was assessed a personal foul and ejected.THIRD-QUARTER WOESThe Lions once again struggled coming out of halftime. Detroit was outscored 31-7 in the third quarter in a loss to the Jets last week and then 14-3 by the 49ers in this game.RECORD-SETTINGThe 49ers had three drives stall after getting inside the red zone in part because Detroit sacked Garoppolo three times on plays that started inside the 20. That led to three field goals for Robbie Gould, giving him 29 straight makes, two more than Phil Dawson’s franchise record set in 2013.GOOD RETURNSRookie D.J. Reed started the second half with a long kickoff return that initially appeared to go for a touchdown. But he was called for a facemask penalty while giving a stiff arm and was only credited with a 90-yard return, the longest for the Niners since Kyle Williams had a 94-yarder in 2012. San Francisco still managed to get a TD with a 26-yard drive capped by Garoppolo’s pass to Celek.INJURIESLions CB Darius Slay left with a concussion in the third quarter. … 49ers S Jaquiski Tartt left in the second half with a shoulder injury.ANTHEMInjured 49ers WR Marquise Goodwin raised his fist during the national anthem. No other player had a visible protest.UP NEXTLions: Host New England on Sunday night.49ers: Visit Kansas City on Sunday.