Darrel Young - Rising Star?

[Defensewins]

Darrel Young has quietly developed into a great FB.
I like it.
The other pleasant surprise for me is the run blocking of our new TE's. They are not adding anything to the passing game, but they do not have to. Logan Paulsen and Niles Paul do such a great job of shifting and blocking both in the run game and in pass protection, it confuses the opposing defenses. I don t think it is a coincidence that once Paulsen, Paul and Darrel Young got used playing together a few game after the injury to Fred Davis, the team improved.
I will go a step further to say the injury to Fred Davis was a blessing in disguise because the team found its identity (running team) by increasing the playing time of Paulsen, Paul and Young. While Fred Davis is a great pass catching TE, his run blocking was lacking in motivation.
Having played LB I know it makes for a long day when the offense you face has physical run blocking TE's. It takes you out of your game when you have to worry about a TE or FB that can knock you back. Say what you want about it being a pass happy QB driven league, when the playoffs starts and it gets cold and windy (bad weather), the teams that can play great defense and run the ball usually excel. The 49ers and Houston Texans went far in the playoffs last year with this despite Texans playing their 3rd string QB and 49ers playing Alex Smith.