LUCKY 13

TNR examines the new starters.

- Craig Massei

Change can be good. Change can be necessary. Change can be unavoidable and inevitable. And if you’re the 2016 49ers, change can be all of the above.

Along with all the other change happening within the organization this year — most notably an overhauled coaching staff with Chip Kelly now in charge — the 49ers had an astounding 13 new faces in their regular starting lineup for their September 12th season opener against the Los Angeles Rams as compared to their 2015 season-opening starting lineup against Minnesota.

That’s 13 new starters out of the 22 players who took the field on offense and defense. It’s the biggest turnover in San Francisco’s starting lineup from one season to the next that the 49ers have had in recent memory — and quite possibly in franchise history.

A large portion of that change has come from within. Ten of the new starters are young holdover veterans from last year’s roster that have moved up into regular starting roles this year. Two others are veteran free-agent additions — one of whom joined the team in the spring and another who was a late arrival at the end of August. San Francisco’s top first-round draft pick, the No. 7 player selected overall this spring, rounds out the list of new starters.

Will this large group represent a Lucky 13 in the starting lineup for the revamped 49ers? Here, The Niner Report takes a look at where each starter stands — and where the 49ers stand at their positions — as the team moves forward through the early part of its schedule.

BLAINE GABBERT