The 49ers’ struggles on special teams last season prompted the organization to make some dramatic moves.
Coach Kyle Shanahan hired respected special-teams coordinator Brian Schneider to replace Richard Hightower.
Then, general manager John Lynch signed special-teams standouts Ray-Ray McCloud, George Odum and Oren Burks in free agency.
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McCloud, one of the top return men in the NFL, pointed to the team’s play on offense and defense as motivation for special teams to continue raising the bar this season.
“Watching Fred [Warner] and the defense being at the top, watching the offense going where we need to go, you can't be around greatness and not be great,” McCloud said following the 49ers’ 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders on Saturday.
“So when you're around it, it's naturally just going to come, and come at work. The win is at work. So that's where it started at.”
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McCloud ranks second in the NFL with 334 yards on punt returns. His average of 10.8 yards is second-best among those with 25 or more returns this season.
He ranks ninth in the NFL with 518 yards on kick returns for a 22.5 average.
McCloud made his mark on offense in the 49ers' latest victory with a 71-yard touchdown run after taking a handoff from Brock Purdy to break a scoreless tie in the second quarter.
McCloud is not alone when it comes to strong play on special teams:
—Odum has 14 “return stops,” according to Football Outsiders, defined as a return short of an average gain. Teammate Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles ranks second in the NFL with 10.
Odum is coming off a huge game against the Commanders in which he had four tackles on special teams.
—Odum leads the 49ers with 18 tackles on special teams, followed by Flannigan-Fowles (15) and Burks (11).
—Kicker Robbie Gould made all three of his field-goal attempts against Washington. On the season, Gould is 23 of 27 on field-goal attempts, and 41 of 42 on extra points.
He moved into eighth place on the NFL’s all-time list of made field goals at 443. Next up, No. 7, John Kasay at 461.
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—Mitch Wishnowsky has landed 28 of his 54 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. That ranks sixth in the NFL.
—Rookie cornerback Sam Womack has contributed greatly as a gunner on punt coverage with multiple plays to enable the 49ers to down the ball near the opponents’ goal line.