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There’s a Lot of Life Left in this "Old" Tart

(This article, initially published 6/20, was republished 6/22 with corrections).

The title quote here, from American Theatre Critic John Lahr, hopefully applies to veteran Free Agent Jaquiski Tartt, whom the Eagles signed to their roster late on Friday 6/18.  Let's proceed quickly to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" regarding this signing...

The Good:

  • Need- Tartt will be a welcome addition at Safety, which was probably the weakest projected position on the Eagles roster.
  • Size/Physicality- Good, at 6'1", 215, "a physical player and big time hitter."  
  • Competition- The planned Eagles starters at Safety were Marcus Epps and Anthony Harris. Tartt will challenge them for playing time, if not actually replacing one of them as a starter.  And the Eagles will have a bit more time to continue their evaluations of third year 4th round safety K’von Wallace from Clemson, and other depth players like Andre Chachere, Jared Mayden and rookie UFA Reed Blankenship. 
  • Pedigree- Tartt was a second round pick (the 46th) in the 2015 NFL draft by San Francisco.
  • Experience- Tartt has been a starting safety for a top NFL defense for several years, starting 64 of the 49ers 80 games, including 14 games for San Francisco last year.  He has also started on a Super Bowl team.
  • Recent Role- Tartt was a mainstay for a good defense that made the “final 4” last year. 
  • Why he and SF parted ways- Tartt signed a 1 year free agent “prove it” deal for San Francisco last year.  While he did not have his best season, he played OK over 14 games.  But Tartt likely wanted a multi-year deal after the 1 year prove it contract, and the Niners have some young talent at the position they’re ready to risk in greater roles.  Per GM John Lynch on Tartt leaving, “We think highly of Jaquiski, he’s played a lot of good football for us and we’re grateful for that. Talented, talented dude. And he’ll play in this league and continue to play at a high level.”  49er head coach Kyle Shanahan before he signed with Philly: “would never rule out anybody like that.”  The 49ers likely would have resigned Tartt to the 1 year deal he eventually did with Philly.
  • Impact- Splits when Tartt plays (vs. not playing) for the 49er “D” since 2019:
    • Points per game allowed by the Defense: 18.8 with Tartt, 26.4 without
    • Yards per game allowed by the Defense: 289.5 with Tartt, 331.5 without
    • Passing Yards per game allowed by the Defense: 185.3 with Tartt, vs. 222.3 without
    • Since '19, the 3rd lowest completion rate in coverage allowed by NFL safeties (57.5%)
  • Reliability- Despite his name, Tartt lacks “flash,” but makes up for it with his dependability, per almost every source.
  • Familiarity- The 49ers run a defense like the one Gannon intends to employ in '22.  Tartt is a former college teammate of new Eagles corner James Bradberry, and a former 49er teammate of Eagle safety Jared Mayden.  
  • Versus the run- He has shown to be better (so far) than both Harris and Epps vs. the run, providing greater versatility to the Safety position. 
  • Risk- Tartt signed a 1-year deal near the veteran minimum.  If he works out, great.  If not, the investment is small.
  • Profile- Per San Francisco media (Jacob Hutchinson of KNBR, Kylke Posey of Niners Nation)- “Always a major component of San Francisco’s defense… Excellent defensively, fundamentally altered the 49ers secondary… Reliable… A knack for tackling in and around the box, especially in the run game… An effective player with the size to play in the box, and the athleticism to cover down the field... He made the plays that don’t show up in the box score… Did a lot of the dirty work that allowed the Niners' defense to be so successful… 49ers did not give up big plays when Tart played… Underappreciated in San Francisco… A gamble to have let him go…

 

The Bad:

  • Age- He's 30.  The 49ers decision to not resign him speaks about where they are on the player.
  • ’21 vs. Pass- Tartt allowed a 95.0 passer rating last year, not horrific but not great, or even good.
  • ’21 Tackling- He had a career high 13.2% missed tackle rate last year.
  • Overall Pro Football Focus grade-- Tartt graded 55th of 62 starting safeties last year. 
  • Playmaking- Key stats are not high volume given dearth of big plays made (18 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles) since becoming a 49er in 2015.
  • Vs. The Pass- While considered a versatile safety vs. the run and pass, his numbers were declining versus the pass last year.  "He can help deep, but that's not his specialty."
  • Big Nickel- This author believes the Eagles, even with 3 safeties with experience, are unlikely to deploy the “big nickel" (3 safeties simultaneously) defense this year.  Presumably, Kyzir White or Nakobe Dean would be LB’s more likely used in such scenarios. 

 

The Ugly:

  • Choke- Tartt dropped a gift-wrapped interception thrown down the middle by Matthew Stafford during the fourth quarter of the most recent NFC Championship Game.  Had Tartt made the easy pick, the 49ers likely win the game and move onto last year’s Super Bowl.  Tartt did take ownership of his faux pas: “No excuses!! I deserve all the criticism my way! Opportunity I dream of I came up short!!! Let my brothers down!! It Still won't define me as a person/player. I will get stronger and better...”
  • Durability- Even when young, he has had injury issues over the years, never able to complete a full complement of 16 (last year 17) regular season games, and had not played more than 12 games since his second season (2016), till last year.  He started a career high14 games last season.

 

Eagle Lesson:  Again, Howie never stops.  Early in the Free Agency period, Roseman tried to sign a premier Safety candidate in Marcus Williams, but in a close competition Williams went to the Ravens.  Eagle interest shifted too late to Justin Reid (who was successfully courted by Andy Reid and the Chiefs), so recent talk has been about a trade for starting safety Chuck Clark.  But with this FA signing, the Eagles add someone familiar to the defense who will likely, at worst, share starting time, push other Birds pieces at safety down a spot for additional depth, and shore up the roster’s current weakest link.  All at little risk, and no loss of resources.  The Eagles will hope the 49ers plan of “moving on from a player a year too early rather than a year too late” works out to be the former this year for Philadelphia!   


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