Roster Breakdown
Quarterback
Here’s one area of the team where the competition isn’t seething. Brian Hoyer is the unquestioned starter, Matt Barkley, looked surprisingly good in off-season workouts, is the backup, and either C.J. Beathard or Nick Mullins will be the developmental third option. Beathard froze in the pocket even more than rookie free agent Mullins during off-season workouts, however, he would have to continue to struggle to be over taken by Mullins. None of the quarterbacks stood out, but that could be due to learning the Kyle Shanahan offense. The hope is Hoyer gets locked in by the beginning of the season. Hoyer ended the 2015 season playing well and he started the 2016 campaign really hot before a shattered arm shelved him for the season as a Chicago Bear.
Running back
It’s a Brady Bunch of players who will vie for playing time, including several veterans. Perched at the top is incumbent Carlos Hyde, who is excellent when he plays, but hasn’t done that consistently. Should Hyde once again get nicked, veterans Tim Hightower and Kapri Bibbs could encroach on Hyde’s snaps. Fourth-rounder Joseph Williams could also elbow for playing time if he continues the upward trajectory he exhibited at Utah. Also watch out for rookie free agent Matt Brieda, a tiny back (5-9, 180) from a small school (Georgia Southern) who has bigplay potential. Without pads in the off-season, Brieda was sometimes untouchable. The 49ers paid a small fortune for free-agent fullback Justin Jusczcyk to run, catch, block and maybe wash Shanahan’s office windows. If he plays as expected, he could also gobble up snaps and earn his five year, $26.5 million contract. Jusczcyk will earn $16.8 million of that in the first year. Not bad for a Harvard man. This bunch might be the key to the entire season, because the 49ers will focus greatly on the run.
Wide receivers
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TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
