49ers pass-catchers lag behind in new advanced separation metric

A new advanced efficiency metric highlights a challenging environment for the San Francisco 49ers’ passing game during the 2025 regular season. According to Next Gen Stats data compiled by @NutshellSportz, San Francisco's skill players finished well below league average in generating separation.

>The metric measures team separation adjusted for average route depth (ADOT), isolating a team's ability to get open relative to where targets are expected to land. The 49ers finished the year at -0.17 yards below expectation, placing them in the bottom third of the NFL. This positioning puts them tied with the Los Angeles Chargers and directly behind the Philadelphia Eagles (-0.16 yards).

>

A look at separation adjusted for average route depth at the team level

The Bears were truly in a class of their own. Ben Johnson consistently put his receivers in position to get open. pic.twitter.com/AelOwoVi92

— Nutshell Sports (@NutshellSportz) June 10, 2026Historically, the narrative surrounding San Francisco's offense focuses on schematic design creating wide-open looks. However, this data reveals that 49ers targets consistently operated in tighter windows than the league baseline. Despite executing an offense heavily reliant on timing and intermediate routes, the team's pass-catchers regularly caught passes with defenders in closer proximity than expected based on their specific route depths.

>This makes sense after Pro Football Focus found that the 49ers finished with the most contested catches (70) in a season since the 2018 Indianapolis Colts.

>The data underscores the exact physical nature of the 49ers' receiving corps. Rather than relying on pure separation at the top of routes to move the chains, the offense operated efficiently while consistently throwing into tight leverage. The lack of separation didn't hurt San Francisco's passing attack much, either, after the 49ers finished fifth in passing yards with 4,157 between Brock Purdy and Mac Jones.

>Now, the 49ers will have a slightly different pass-catching group in 2026. Gone are Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne. Mike Evans, Christian Kirk and 2026 rookie De'Zhaun Stribling step in alongside Ricky Pearsall at receiver, with running back Christian McCaffrey and tight ends George Kittle and Jake Tonges back for the year.

>This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers pass-catchers lag behind in new advanced separation metric